Inspirational Stories #120 - Aesop's tales # 5 - The Peacock's complaint

A peacock was very unhappy with his ugly voice, and he spent most of his days complaining about it.

"It's true that you cannot sing", said the fox. "But look how beautiful you are!"

"Oh, but what good is all this beauty," moaned the disheartened bird. "I have such an unpleasant voice!"

"Listen, said the fox. Each one has their own special gift. You have such beauty, the nightingale has his song, the owl his eyes, and the eagle his strength. Even if you had an eloquent voice, you would still complain about another thing". 

Moral: Do not envy the gifts of others. Make the most of your own.

Inspirational Stories #119 - Aesop's tales # 4 - The Wolf and the Crane

A wolf ravished his prey one day. He ate so fiercely and hungrily that a bone got lodged in his throat, causing him grievous pain. He howled and howled in agony and offered a rich reward to anyone who could remove the bone.

A crane passing by considering the money, and after seeing the wolf and hearing him scream in pain, took pity on him. She used her long thin bill to reach down his throat and remove the bone. And after removing the bone, she asked the wolf for the promised reward.

"Reward!, cried the wolf, you greedy, insolent bird! Why do you deserve a reward?. You're lucky that I didn't bite your head off when you stuck it in my mouth!".  

Moral: Do not expect gratitude

Inspirational Stories #118 - Aesop's tales # 3 - The Wind and the Sun

The wind and the sun argued one day over which one was the stronger. Spotting a man traveling on the road, they sported a challenge to see which one could remove the coat from the man's back the quickest.

The wind began. He blew strong gusts of air, so strong that the man could barely walk against them. But the man clutched his coat tight against him. The wind blew harder and longer, and the harder the wind blew, the tighter the man held his coat against him. The wind blew until he was exhausted, but he could not remove the coat from the man's back.

It was now the sun's turn. He gently sent  his beams upon the traveler. The sun did very little, but quietly shone upon his head and back until the man became so warm that he took off his coat and headed for the nearest shade tree.

Moral: Gentle persuasion is stronger than force. 

Inspirational Stories #117 - Aesop's tales # 2 - The Goose that laid the Golden Egg

A man and his wife owned a very special goose. Every day the goose would lay a golden egg, which made the couple very rich.

"Just think, said the man's wife, if we could have all the golden eggs that are inside the goose, we would be richer much sooner".

"You're right, said the husband, we wouldn't have to wait for the goose to lay her egg every day".

So, the couple killed the goose and cut her open, only to find that she was just like every other goose. She had no golden eggs inside of her at all, and they had no more golden eggs.

Moral: Too much greed results in nothing.

Inspirational Stories #116 - The Importance of Having Friends

Once upon a time, a lonely hawk lived on a tree by the riverside. He was young and handsome but he had no friends.

One day, he saw a beautiful she-hawk sitting on a tree and wanted to marry her but the she-hawk refused to marry him, as he had no friends.

 “Will you marry me if I make three friends?” – he asked. She said that she definitely would.

The hawk then went looking for friends. While flying on the other bank of the river, he saw a huge tortoise. The hawk flew down to him and said, “Dear tortoise, will you be my friend and help me in my hour of need?” The tortoise agreed to become his friend and said, “Call me whenever you need me and I shall come to your side.”

 

The hawk also promised him his help at any time and then flew in search of the second friend. Soon, he came upon an osprey. The hawk went to it and asked her if she would be his friend and help him in time of his need. The osprey very gladly accepted his friendship and offered her help whenever he needed it.