Ms Shenton from “My Paper” told some interesting stories with meaningful morals. I decided to translate them into English (because I’m lazy to type Chinese).
Story 1
In an unknown little town situated in France, there is a fountain which can grant you what you wish for. Miracles are known to have happen and illnesses are known to be cured.
One day, a retired general was slowly walking along the road in town. He was crippled having lost a leg. As he slowly makes his way to the fountain, the townsfolk whispered among themselves.
“So pitiful, is he going to ask God for another leg?”
The general heard what the guy said and turned to face them.
“I’m not asking God for another leg, I’m asking God to guide me how to live the rest of my life without the missing leg.”
Moral: To learn how to overcome your loss and accept your fate. No matter what you gain or loss in life, stay hopeful and live life to its fullest.
Story 2
An old man was fishing when a child came forward to observe him. As the old man is an expert in fishing, after a while, his basket is filled with fish. He felt an affinity with the child and decided to give the child his basket. However the child rejected the basket. The old man was shocked and asks him the reason for rejecting.
“I wish to have your fishing rod” the child replied.
The old man was puzzled and asks why again.
The child said the basket of fish will soon finish. By having a fishing rod, he can fish and eat fish for the rest of his life.
Moral: The child sounded clever but maybe he is too clever for his own good? If the child does not know how to fish, he might never be able to catch a fish and he might end up not having a single fish to eat even. That is because technique matters in fishing.
The same can be applied in life. If you think by owning an office like your boss, you will be rich like your boss. However if you did not put in any effort or be equipped with knowledge and technique to be rich and successful, then success will never be associated with you.
Story 3
Little snail asked his mummy, “Why are we born with a heavy and hard shell on our back?”
His mummy replied “Because we do not have bone structure thus we can only crawl. And crawling is slow. The shell is to protect us.”
“But Miss Caterpillar does not have bone structure either. Why doesn’t she need a shell too?”
“Miss Caterpillar will one day grow up into a beautiful butterfly. The sky will then protect her.” His mummy tenderly explained.
“But Mr. Earthworm does not have bone structure and he crawl slow and he will not turn into a butterfly. So why doesn’t he need a shell too?”
“Mr. Earthworm knows how to dig into the earth. The earth will protect him.” His mummy patiently explained.
Upon hearing this, little snail cried. He felt pitiful because neither the sky nor the earth will protect snails.
His mummy consoled him and told him “That is the reason why we have shell. We don’t rely on the sky or the earth. We rely on ourselves.”
Moral: Understand your own strength is the key to survival. This way, you will not brood over not having what people have and be able to find your special niche.
Story 4
A pig, a sheep and a cow were locked in a barn. Once, the farmer tried to catch the pig causing the pig to squealed and protested violently. The sheep and the cow could not stand the pig's squealing and scolded the pig "Mr. Farmer usually catches us too but we don't squealed like you."
The pig replied "But that is different. Mr. Farmer only catches you for your fur and milk, but he catches me for my life!"
Moral: Different people faces different situation and environment. Thus you should learn to empathise others and be more broad hearted.
Story 5
Someone once conducted the following experiment.
Put a shark and some tropical fish in an enclosed pool but installed a glass barrier to separate these 2 types. Initially the shark will keep banging straight into the invisible glass to catch the tropical fish. But these are fruitless attempts and the investigation team will put in some carp for the shark to hunt as food.
However the shark still attempts to hunt the tropical fish at the other side of the barrier. He tried every nook and cranny to get past the barrier withou much success. Every time the glass reflects cracks, the team will replace the glass barrier with a thicker one.
After a while, the shark no longer attempt to catch the tropical fish. He waited patiently for the time where his feed, the crap, arrived. Then he will showcased his expert hunting skill and hunt down these craps.
Towards the end of the experiment, the team finally removes the glass barrier. However the shark remains emotionless. He still sticks to his comfort zone and catches his daily share of carps. When the carps swim to the tropical fishes side, the shark do not bother to catch them back.
The shark was ridiculed for being so weak-hearted.
Moral: If you are heart-broken or facing a failure in your life, you will know the meaning of Pain. And if you are afraid of pain, you will not be able to solve your problem. The shark was afraid of getting hurt again. So he chose to give up trying and be resigned to his own fate. Should you?
