Stories For Life | Food For Thought

  The Hiccup Treatment   An old couple lived in a village. They lived alone because their children were married and lived far from home. The old couple lived happily at their small cottage.  One day, the old woman got bouts of hiccups and whatever she did, she had no relief. The following day, she decided to go to the village doctor with a neighbouring lady.  The doctor told the woman that he wanted to examine her first. So, he asked her to lie down on the bed. The old lady got on to the bed with the help of the other lady. The doctor first checked her pulses and then examined her well. The old lady was still getting hiccup. He then sat down on a chair next to the bed and asked,  "How old are you grandma now?" She said, "I'm 83 doctor!" and continued suffocating her hiccups, "I have five children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, too".  The doctor kept silent for a few seconds and said,  "Mum! I find that you are pregnant!".  The old la...

 Once Upon a time, there lived a donkey in a forest. He was young and strong. However, everyone in the forest humiliated the donkey where they met him. They used all the bad words they could use to call him a 'a fool'. But the donkey never quarreled with them. Instead, he took every effort to keep away from the others.  This behaviour helped the donkey to focus more on food. Before long, the donkey grew into a strong and healthy animal.  A very cruel lion ruled this forest. Everyday, some animal fell a prey to him. So, everyone in the forest lived in great fear.  One day, the lion king saw the donkey grazing on the bank of the river. He was delighted to see the hefty donkey. The lion hid behind a bush and waited for the donkey to get closer. The lion at once pounced upon the donkey. The panicked donkey kicked the lion so hard that it fell dead at the spot.  The animals heard the deadly roar of their king and watched as to what was going on at a distance. They sa...

  A good friendship is a strong bond Ravi and Sugath were two good friends. Wherever they went, they went together. The whole village knew about their friendship.  Once the two friends wanted to visit one of their old teachers in another village. The path to that village fell through a thick forest infested with wild animals.  On the way, Ravi asked Sugath if he could climb up trees. Sugath said that he had never climbed up a tree. The two friends continued their journey.  Suddenly, Ravi saw a bear coming towards them. He quickly climbed up a near by tree. Sugath was left alone on the road. He was shivering in fear. He had nothing to do but to lay on the road as if he were dead. When Sugath saw his good friend lying on the road, he remembered his friend did not how to climb up trees. He was shocked to see his friend on the road.   Ravi quickly climbed down and ran to his friend in a flash. He also lay beside Sugath. Sugath murmurred to see Ravi, "Friend, cl...

Contentment Is Bliss   Once upon a time, there lived a woodcutter named Banda in a village in Sri Lanka.  He worked only for a short time every morning. Then he engaged in some other work at home.  One day, a German tourist came to his village for a short stay. His name was Bernard. He showed an interest in knowing the livelihood of the people who lived in his vicinity.  The tourist observed Banda worked only for a short time every day. He was curious to know as to why Banda worked like this. So, one day he talked to Banda.  " H! I'm Bernard from Germany. I see that you work only for about an hour every day. Can I know why?"  "Well, I think this is enough for me. I have work in my garden and I do them."  "But don't you think, if you work longer you can split more wood and earn more. Then you can buy a wheelbarrow and transport more wood to the town." "Well, then?" "Then you can buy a truck with the money and transport logs to the tow...