The Sparrow

I was coming back from hunting and walking along a broad path on the garden, with my dog running in front of me. all of a sudden he started running slower,and began to steal along as if he were tracking some wild animals. I looked along the path, and saw a young sparrow, with yellow about its beak and down on its head. it had fallen out of the nest the wind was shaking the trees so much and sat unable to move, helplessly flapping its wings.my dog was alowly approaching it. without notice, moving with great speed down the tree that was close by, an old sparrow fell like a stone right before the nose of my dog. untidy, very afraid and making pitiful sounds, it threw itself towards the open jaws of shining teeth. it ran to save, it lay beside the young sparrow, but its tiny body was shaking with fear, with an unpleasant and unusual note. in full fear, it gave itself up to the dog. my dog must have looked really big and terrible to it. but it left the safety of its branch at the top of the tree to the risks of getting killed by the dog, a force that was beyond its control threw it down. at first, my dog stopped moving, then move back, it was clear that he knew this force. I moved fast to call my dog back and went away full of respect. yes, do not laugh, I felt a deep respect for the courage and love which the small bird showed. love, I thought, is stronger than death or the fear of deth. only by it, by love, life is kept together and moves forward.

The Boy and the Puppy

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. he painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. as he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls, he looked down into the eyes of a little boy. mister, he said, I want to buy one of your puppies,well, said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat of the back of his neck, these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money. the boy dropped his head for a moment, then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. I've got 89 cents, is that enough at least to take a look?

sure, said the farmer. and with that he let out a whistle, here, dolly, he called. out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran dolly followed by four little balls of ur. the little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence, his eyes danced with delight.

as the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. slowly another little fur ball appeared, this once noticeably smaller, down the ramp it slid. then the little pup began awkwardly wobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up.

I want that one, the little boy said, quickly pointing to the runt. the farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, son, you don't want that puppy, he will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would. with that the the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. in doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. looking back up at the farmer, he said, you see, sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands. with tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup.holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy. how much, asked the little boy, no charge, answered the farmer, there's no charge for love and understanding.

The Leap

Once a twelve-year-old boy was travelling around the world by sea, his father was the captain of the ship. now, the ship was sailing home at last.

It was a pleasant day, all the passengers were on the deck. a monkey was making funny faces at the passengers. it became funnier as more passengers came closer, enjoying its tricks. Suddenly the monkey ran towards the captain's son and took his hat, it then put the hat on its own head, soon after that, it climbed up the mast.

everyone laughed, but the boy was not sure whether to laugh or cry, it had come as a surprise. the monkey sat on the first cross bean of the mast, it took off the hat and began to tear it, it teased and made faces at the boy. it was just too much for him, he shouted, you terrible creature, return my hat or you are going to pay for it. the crowd laughed louder and the boy turned red with anger, he went after the monkey on the mast, the monkey continued to climb higher. I am not going to spare you, the boy shouted, as he continued to climb higher and higher, finally both of them reached the top of the mast. the monkey stretched itself to its full length and hung what remained of the hat on the end of the yard arm, then it climbed to the very tip of the mast and sat there, making fun of the boy. the distance from the mast to the yard arm, where the hat hung, was about two yards. to reach the hat, the boy would have to let go of the rope and the mast. he was not bothered about the danger involved, as his mind was focused only on getting the hat. everyone on the deck froze with fear when they saw that the boy had stepped onto the spar without support. one wrong step, and he will fall hard to the floor of the ship,which will end to death. everyone waited to see what would happen next. but someone from the crowd cried in fear. the boy looked down and began to teeter. just then the captain of the ship came on deck, he was carring a gun to shoot seagulls. the captain stood still upon seeing his son on the mast. then he aimed the gun at his son and shouted, jump into the water or i will shoot you, one two three. everyone looked up, no certain of what the boy would do. the boy then jumped into the sea.

and at the same time, twenty sailors jumped into the sea, rescued the boy and brought him back on the board. they pressed his stomach and water came out from his mouth and nose, then he began to breathe. the captain walked to his cabin with proud steps. once he was there, he closed the door and he began to cry. he had come very close to losing his only sone. with grest presense of mind, he had made his son leap into life, instead of falling to his death. for his son, it was a leap of faith, faith in his father that made him jump into the ocean as he was told.

Are You a Potato, an Egg, or a Tea Leaf?

Jenny was a young girl, she used to get angry at everything and she had a bad attitude about life. once, when she felt that life was unbearable, she asked her father what to do. she told him if she managed to solve one problem, another one followed quickly. her father took her to the kitchen, he asked jenny to take a potato, and egg and two spoons of tea leaves. Jenny was surprised, and asked her father, do you want me to cook? no, her father said, he then took three bowls and poured one cup of water in each bowl, the bowls were placed on the stove. once the water started to boil, he dropped the potato in a bowl, and egg in the second one and the leaves in the third one. why are you doing all these things/ Jenny asked, really angry with her father. just wait for fifteen minutes, said her father. the impatient daughter managed to wait for around 15 minutes.her father removed the potato from the pot and placed it on a plate, he did the same with the egg, he filtered the tea using a cup. now, he placed the two plates, one with the potato and the other with the egg, and the cup of tea in front of Jenny. he asked Jenny, what do you see? a potato, an egg and a cup of tea, said Jenny. look it closely and answer me. said her father.Jenny replied the same. now touch it and answer me. the potato was soft, the egg was boiled hard, and the tea carried a nice armoa. Jenny couldn't find the correct answer.her father said, the potato was so hard before it was boiled, now it has turned soft and smooth. also, the egg would break easily but after boiling it became hard. sip the tea, it is delicious. Jenny asked, what does it mean father? I don't understand. each object responded differently to the water, each object was put under the same kind of circumstances, faced similar challenges, but reacted differently. the potato, when put in boiling water, becamse very soft, the soft egg became very hard when we put it in boiling water. and the tea leaves are unique, it changed the water itself, giving it a unique flavor and aroma, it gave something new. Jenny then understood that we can create something new and unique even when we experience challenges. so, what are you, a potato, an egg or a tea leaf?    

A Brother Like That

a friend of my named Paul received a new car from his brother as an early Christmas present.

On Christmas Eve, when Paul came out of his office, a boy was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. is this your car, mister, he asked, Paul nodded, my brother gave it to me for Christmas. the boy looked astonished, you mean your brother gave it to you, and it didn't cost you anything? I wish

he hesitated, and Paul knew what he was going to wish, he was going to wish he had a brother like that. but what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. I wish, the boy went on, that I could be a brother like that. Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively added, would you like a ride in my new car? oh, yes, I'd love that. after a short ride the boy turned with his eyes aglow and said, mister, would you mind driving in front of my house? Paul smiled a little, he thought he knew what the lad wanted, he wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile, but Paul was wrong again. will you stop right where those steps are, the boy asked, he ran up the steps, then in a little while, Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. he was carrying his little crippled brother, he sat down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up right next to him and pointed at the car. there she is, buddy, just like I told you upstairs.his brother gave it to him for Christmas, and didn't cost him a cent. and someday I'm gonna give you one just like it, then you can see for youself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been telling you about. Paul got out and lifted the little lad into the front seat of his car. the shining eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable ride.