The Leopard in his Tree

There was once a leopard in the jungle; and a very nocturnal leopard he was too. He could hardly sleep at night and, lying on a branch of his magnificent tree, he spent his time watching what was happening in the forest at night. This is how he came to learn that there was a thief in that forest. He would watch the thief go out every night with empty hands and return loaded up with his stolen loot. Sometimes the thief had nabbed the senior monkey’s bananas, other times he had filched the lion’s wig, or pinched the zebra’s stripes. One night he even snuck home with the big elephant’s false tusk, which the elephant had been secretly wearing for quite some time.

However, as the leopard was a very quiet sort of cat, who lived at the margin of everything, he didn’t want to say anything to anyone. He didn’t see it as his business, and, if truth were told, he rather enjoyed discovering these little secrets.

And so, thanks to the stealthy thief, quite a stir was being created in the world of the animals: the elephant felt ridiculous without his false tusk, and the zebra now looked like a white donkey, not to mention the lion who, now as bald as a lioness had lost all respect. Most of the other animals were in some similar position too. They were furious, confused or ridiculous, but the leopard lay quietly in his tree, each night enjoying the thief’s escapades.

However, one night the thief went on vacation, and after having waited a long while for him to appear, the leopard grew tired and decided to sleep for a while. When he woke up he found himself in a place very different from his usual tree, he was floating on the water of a small lake inside a cave, and around him he could see all those objects which, night after night, he had seen being stolen… the thief had cut down his tree and stolen his entire home along with the leopard himself! Well this was the last straw, so the leopard, taking advantage of the thief not being there, ran out and went straight to see the other animals to tell them where the thief had hidden all their things...

They all praised the leopard for having discovered the thief and his hideout, and allowing them to recover their possessions. In the end, the animal who lost most from all this was the leopard, who couldn’t replant his magnificent tree and had to make do with a much inferior tree located in a very boring site... and he regretted having not been concerned at the problems of the other animals, now seeing that in the long run those very problems had become his own.

Moral:- Indifference to the problems of others can allow those problems to grow until they end up being problems to ourselves.

An Allergic Wizard

Once upon a time there was a good, cheerful wizard who loved to use his magic to make everyone happy. He was also quite an unusual wizard because he was allergic to a load of different foods. He had to be very careful what he put in his mouth. He was always being invited to parties, and he would always gladly accept, because he always had new tricks and games to try out.

In the beginning, everyone was considerate about his allergies, and they took special care to prepare food that he would be able to eat safely. But as time went on, people tired of having to prepare special foods for him. They began to forget his dietary requirements. After having enjoyed his magic, people would leave him by himself, and the parties became less enjoyable. Sometimes they didn't even bother to tell him what was in the food, and, more than once, he ended up with a black tongue, a red face, and a very itchy body.

Angry at such lack of consideration, he waved his wand and cast a huffy spell that gave everyone a special allergy. Some became allergic to birds or frogs, others to fruit or meat, some to raindrops... And so, each person had to take special care from then on. Whenever people met up to eat or have a party, they ended up having to go to the doctor.

Ending parties in this way was such a pain that, gradually, people began making an effort to learn what each other’s allergies were. Now they would prepare everything carefully, so that they could have a good time together without getting sick. Visits to the doctor decreased, and in less than a year, life in town returned to normal, filled with parties and celebrations, always attended by the wizard, who gave life and joy to the occasion. Even better, now he could stay and enjoy the whole party. No one would have suspected that, in that town, every single person was strongly allergic to something.

Some time later, without anyone knowing, the wizard waved his wand again and undid the spell. The people had learned well how to be considerate towards others, and how they could enjoy each others' company even better just by making a little effort to adapt to each and every person.

Moral :- With very little effort, and some tact, you can be considerate to, and include everyone.

Do Not Hurt Yourself

One night a snake while it was looking for food, entered a carpenter’s workshop.

The carpenter, who was a rather untidy man, had left several of his tools lying on the floor. One of them was a saw.

As the snake went round and round the shop, he climbed over the saw, which gave him a little cut.

At once, thinking that the saw was attacking him, he turned around and bit it so hard that his mouth started to bleed.

This made him very angry. He attacked again and again until the saw was covered with blood and seemed to be dead.

Dying from his own wounds, the snake decided to give one last hard bite then turned away. The next morning the carpenter was surprised to find a dead snake on his doorstep.

Lesson to Learn: Sometimes in trying to hurt others, we only hurt ourselves.

Don’t Change the World

Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country.

When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of animals’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money.

Then one of his wise servant dared himself to tell the king, “Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money ? Why don't you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?”

The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a “shoe” for himself.

There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story: “To make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world.”

Meaningless Goals....

A farmer had a dog who used to sit by the roadside waiting for vehicles to come around. As soon as one came he would run down the road, barking and trying to overtake it. 

One day a neighbor asked the farmer "Do you think your dog is ever going to catch a car?"

The farmer replied, "That is not what bothers me. What bothers me is what he would do if he ever caught one."

Many people in life behave like that dog who is pursuing meaningless goals. Put your time and energy behind goals that mean something to you.