Inspirational Stories #121 - Aesop's tales # 6 - The City Mouse and the Country Mouse

A country mouse invited his cousin who lived in the city to come visit him. The city mouse was so disappointed with the sparse meal which was nothing more than a few kernels of corn and couple of dried berries.

"My poor cousin, said the city mouse. You hardly have anything to eat! I do believe that an ant could eat better! Please do come to the city and visit me, and I will show you such rich feasts, readily available for the taking".

So, the country mouse left with his city cousin who brought him to a splendid feast in the city's alley. The country mouse could not believe his eyes. He had never seen so much food in one place. There was bread, cheese, cereals, and grains of all sorts scattered about in a warm cozy portion of the alley.

The two mice settled down to eat their wonderful dinner, but before they barely took their first bites, a cat approached their dining area. The two mice scampered away and hid in a small uncomfortable hole until the cat left. Finally, it was quiet, and the unwelcome visitor went to prowl somewhere else. The two mice came out of the hole and resumed their abundant feast. Before they could get a proper taste in their mouth, another visitor intruded on their dinner, and the two little mice had to scuttle away quickly.

"Goodbye, said the country mouse. You do indeed live in a plentiful city, but I am going home where I can enjoy my dinner in peace".

Moral: A modest life with peace and quiet is better than a richly one with danger and strife.

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.