Fables and Tales, II

Fables and Tales, Book II, will be a compilation of 101 short stories with a message for the transformation of human consciousness towards the Light. It teaches by example, by using metaphors, as Divine Jesus taught his people. We follow His Way.

Research and compilation made by Luis Prada, Editor and Publisher of Brother Veritus' Website. This is a labor of love done with deep passion and with love for humanity and to contribute to human enlightenment.

This e-Book in the making in the form of a webpage will have 101 short stories for children of all ages. This will be a good start for your child into the realm of spirituality.

When Krushev pronounced his famous denounce of the Stalinist Era, it is said that one of the present in the Central Committee said:
— Where were you, Comrade Krushev, when all these innocent people were assassinated?
Krushev stop, looked around throughout the room and said:
— I thank he who said that to have the kindliness to stand up.
The tension could be felt in the room, but nobody stood up.
Then, Krushev said:
—Very well, you have the answer, be whoever he be. I was in the same place in which you are now.

Circumstances in life put us in a difficult position. It is important in these moments to have present the principles and values we have, otherwise, we must be accountable in the future for our attitude at the moment. The fear that comes in these moments must be overcome by using the power to face it, say, to let the being find a method to resolve the situation without putting at risk his or her own ethics.
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On a certain occasion a group of women gathered in an afternoon to drink coffee and brag a little about their professional achievements.

Among the group there was a lady, very quiet, who was asked what she did for a living; she, with a tone of ashamedness, answered that was dedicated to her home, she was a House Wife.

A psychologist who was present came out in her defense and said: "What would be of this world if these valiant Mothers of the Family were extinct?" and she reminded them that the company she was president, general manager and operator could never be compared to.

In the only place a mother is irreplaceable is in her own home. Profession of a Mother: She is the builder of the foundation of the society. Any woman can be replaced in any labor job, but not in their own home. The consumer society has made that her labor be despised because apparently does not produce income to the family. There is nothing more wrong, since the mother is the head of the institution that represents the base of the society. The Enterprise called the FAMILY and its production is no more than all future professional men and women... from the FAMILY comes the future professionals.

When the mother heals the scratches of her child in the knees or is a chauffer for them in the afternoons or goes to the supermarket so that everybody has something to eat, is, at that moment, when she holds the position of "MANAGER OF GENERAL SERVICES".

When we see her explaining to her children difficult divisions with decimals or teaching them education and respect, she holds the position of "MANAGER OF HUMAN RESOURCES".

When she is heard talking about the qualities of her children, she is a "MANAGER OF MARKETING", since nobody believes so much in her product as a mother of her children.

Her schedule: UNLIMITED. Her work shift starts at dawn with the cry of the baby with hunger, it may continue the rest of the day as she be sure everything functions properly. In the afternoon, she is chauffer and the teacher of her children. At night the loving wife that listens and attends to her husband and she can continue awake waiting for her teenage child to come from the party. When she has time to rest, she does not stop thinking of her functions. She cannot delegate her work because, when imprinting it with so much loving care, it is almost impossible to find qualified personnel to equal her. She cannot get a secretary in charge of the transmission of values, morals, principles, nor to send a good-night kiss by fax.

Her salary: UNREACHABLE. In fact, she herself does not conceive the idea of receiving nothing in return because she does it with love. Some Mother's Day she receives a flower, a drawing with brilliant crayons or the little star on her child's forehead. With this she feels she was given the best of promotions.

Retirement Pension: Nothing of this will she ever receive, instead after 14 to 18 years of unreachable work she will apparently be laid off, without benefits, when they say to her: please, mom, mind your own business; this is my life". Supposedly she is fired because only the presence of a mother is important, however in those moments they are not aware of it.

Monument or Diploma: Where is the monument or diploma for these ENTREPRENEURS who do not get tired of practicing their profession? The physician, entrepreneur, artist, priest, engineer, lawyer, doctor, the licensed, architect, etc., who give their lives to others have come out from these companies called "FAMILIES". Those great professionals are their achievements, honors, trophies and diplomas.

One day a 6 year old girl was in the classroom. The teacher was going to explain the evolution to the children. Then she asked a kid:
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see that tree out there?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Tommy, do you that grass out there?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Go out, look up and tell me if you can see the sky.
TOMMY: Alright (He came some minutes later). Yes, I saw the sky.
TEACHER: Did you see God?
TOMMY: No.
TEACHER: That's my point. We cannot see God because He is not there. He does not exist.

A little girl asked her permission to make some questions to the child. The teacher accepted and the little girl asked:
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see that tree out there?
TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see that grass out there?
TOMMY: Yessssssss... (Tired of all those questions.)
LITTLE GIRL: See the sky?
TOMMY: Yessssssss...
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher?
TOMMY: Yes...
LITTLE GIRL: See her brain?
TOMMY: No.
LITTLE GIRL: Then, according to what we have learned today with the teacher, she has no brain!
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An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice complaining, and so, one morning, sent him for some salt. When the apprentice returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water then to drink it.

The master chuckled, and then asked the young man to take the same size handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake, and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”

As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the master asked, “How does it taste?”
“Fresh,” remarked the apprentice.
“Do you taste the salt?”, asked the master.
“No,” said the young man.

At this, the master sat beside this serious young man who so reminded him of himself and took his hands, offering: “The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.”
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In a little rural school there was a very antiquated and old coal oven. A little one has assigned the task of arriving to school early everyday to light the fire and warm the classroom before his teacher and classmates arrive.

One morning they arrived and found the school wrapped in flames. They took the kid out unconscious and more dead than alive from the building. He had serious burns in the lower part of his body and was urgently taken to the county hospital.

In his bed the child horribly burned and semi-unconscious, heard to physician speaking to his mother. He said that indeed his son would die, that it was the best it could happen, really, since the fire had destroyed the lower part of his body.

But the valiant kid did not want to die. He decided he would survive. Somehow, for a great surprise of the doctor, he survived.

Once the danger of death was overcome he again heard his mother and the doctor talking softly. Taking into consideration that the fire had damaged in great manner the lower extremities of his body, the doctor told the mother, it would have been much better if he would die since he was condemned to be invalid all his life without the possibility of using his legs.

Once again the courageous child took a decision. He would not be invalid. He would walk. But unfortunately, from the waist down, he had no motor capability. His thin legs hanged lifeless.

Finally, the hospital discharged him. Everyday his mother massaged his legs but there was no sensation, no control, nothing. Nevertheless, his determination of walking was stronger than ever.

When he was not in bed he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny morning the mother took him to the patio to take some fresh air. That day instead of remaining sitting he threw himself from the chair. He pushed himself over the grass dragging his legs. He arrived to the white post fence that surrounded his house garden. With great effort he climbed up the fence. There, post by post, he started to advance at the fence determined to walk.

He started to do the same everyday until he made a small track near the fence. Nothing he wanted more than to give life to those two legs.

At last, thanks to the fervent prayers of his mother and her daily massages, his iron persistence and his resolute determination, he developed the capacity, first of standing up, then of stumbling walking and finally of walking alone and then of running.

He started to go walking to school, then running, for the simple pleasure of running. Later in the university he was part of the running-over-track team.

And even later in the Madison Square Garden this young boy that had no hopes of surviving, who would never walk, who would never have the possibility of running, this determined youth, Glenn Cunningham, came to be the United State athlete who run the world's fastest kilometer!

An old priest was dying. He sent a message for an Australian Tax Office agent and his Lawyer to come to the Rectory. When they arrived, they were ushered up to his bedroom. As they entered the room, the priest held out his hands and motioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The priest grasped their hands, sighed contentedly, smiled and stared at the ceiling. For a time, no one said anything.

Both the ATO agent and Lawyer were touched and flattered that the old priest would ask them to be with him during his final moment. They were also puzzled because the priest had never given any indication that he particularly liked either one of them.

The old priest mustered up some strength, then said weakly, "Jesus died between two thieves, and that's how I want to go, too."
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A very tired wayfarer sits under the shade of a tree unaware that he was going to find a magic tree, "The Tree that converts wishes into reality".

Sat on the hard ground he thought it would be very nice to find a soft bed. Instantly this bed appeared by his side.

Astounded the man got inside and said that the height of happiness would be reached if a girl would come and massage his crippled legs. The girl appeared and massaged him in a very nice way.

—I'm hungry —said the man— and eating in this moment would be certainly a delight. A table sprang out loaded with succulent food. The man got happy. He eats and drinks. His head leans forward a little. His eyelids, due to the influence of wine and fatigue, got shut. He left himself fall along the bed and thought now in the marvelous events of this extraordinary day.

—I'm going to sleep for an hour or two —he said to himself. The worst thing would be if a tiger would pass by here while I sleep.

You have in yourself a Wishing Tree that awaits your orders. But beware, it also can make your negative thoughts and fears come true. It can become polluted from them and become blocked. This is the mechanism of worries.

I wish you, heartily, a life free of worries, of negative thoughts and fears, at the shade of your own Wishing Tree!
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A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier.

Because of hectic schedules it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day.

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted.

The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I've Arrived
Date: October 16, 2004
I know you're surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I've just arrived and have been checked in. I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then!
Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.
P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here.

One day a small opening appeared in a cocoon. A man sat and observed for several hours how the butterfly was struggling to get her body pass through that little hole.

Then it seemed as though she was not able to achieve any progress. It seemed she had gone the farthest she was able to in her attempt and could not advance any farther.

Then the man decided to help the butterfly: he took a pair of scissors and cut the rest of the cocoon. The butterfly then came out easily. But her body was atrophied, was small and had her wings flatten. The man continued observing her since he expected that, at any moment, her wings would open and shake to be able to sustain her body, the one which, in turn, would be taking shape.

Nothing happened! In truth the butterfly spent the rest of her life dragging along her deformed body and atrophied wings. She never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindliness and willingness to help, did not understand was that the tight cocoon and the necessary effort of the butterfly to pass through the small aperture was the way in which God made possible that the fluid of the butterfly's body would reach the wings, in such a way as to have her ready to fly once she would be free from the cocoon.

Sometimes the effort is just what we need in our lives. If God allows us to pass through our lives without obstacles, He would leave us crippled. We would not be as strong as we would have been and never would be able to fly.

I asked for strength... and God gave me difficulties to make me strong. I asked for wisdom... and God gave me problems to solve. I asked for prosperity... and God gave me a brain and muscle to work. I asked for courage... and God gave me obstacles to overcome. I asked for love... and God gave me people to help. I asked for favors... and God gave me opportunities.

Wake up, little darling, that dawn is coming out!
Look at her, how beautiful she comes with her luminous mantle.
Smile, dear of mine, and open right now your clear eyes! that all the nymphs of the forest are happily singing to you.
You have crowned my forehead with an unknown brilliance.
Tell me, treasure, are you all mine?, or are you just a passing gift? With whom did you dream at night, little darling?
Tell me, my child, who did you kiss in the heavens that today you wake up so clear?

Mommy! I have played with bright stars, I befriended the Sun, and he taught me his song that sea and wind sing.
But I knew it already... It was your voice, so dear, that one that sounded in the high, the same one that I would hear snuggled up here, in your lap.

Is that true, my life? I learned it in the Silence, cradling you slowly when your were very little.
But today you have grown, your walk pace goes so fast...!
Little darling! My child! Dear of mine! I am mommy... I loved you so then and I love you so now. Feel me always by your side.
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During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."

One night, at11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance, and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirit. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Most importantly, "Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching."
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My impulsive character made me outburst into anger at the slightest provocation. Most of the time, after one of these incidents, I felt ashamed and forced myself to comfort whom I had hurt.

One day a psychologist, who saw me giving excuses after an explosion of anger, gave me a smooth paper.

And then he said to me: “Crumple it up.” Astonished, I obeyed and made a ball with the paper.

Then he said to me: “Now put it as it was before.” Of course I couldn't leave it the way it was. As hard as I tried, the paper was left full of wrinkles.

Then the psychologist said: “The heart of people is like that paper. The impression that you leave in that heart you hurt will be so hard to erase as those wrinkles in the paper. Though we try to attempt to rectify the error, it was already "marked."

Impulsively we do not control ourselves and without thinking we throw out words full of hate and resentment and then, when we think about that, we repent. But we cannot go back, we cannot erase what was left recorded. And the saddest part is that we leave "wrinkles" in many hearts.

Translation: (Left column, from top to bottom), Neighbors, friends, spouses, colleagues. (Right column, from top to bottom), brothers and sisters, employees, children, parents, family

From today on be more comprehensive and more patient. When you feel like exploding remember "The wrinkled paper." It is the advice I give you.
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1. Jesus' Dad's Name:
A Sunday school teacher asked her class, "What was Jesus' mother's name?" One child answered, "Mary."
The teacher then asked, "Who knows what Jesus' father's name was?" A little kid said, "Verge."
Confused, the teacher asked, "Where did you get that?"
The kid said, "Well, you know, they are always talking about Verge 'n' Mary.''

2. 3-year-old, Reese: "Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen."

3. A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."

4. After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you, guys."

5. I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer for several evenings at bedtime, she would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

6. One particular four-year-old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."

7. A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."

8. Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church."
"Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked.
Angie pointed to the back of the church and said,
"See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."

9. A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'" Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"

10. A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. "Daddy, what happened to him?” the son asked. "He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said, "Did God throw him back down?"

One Dollar Work
Unknown Author
(Original text in Spanish, Translation)
Editor' Note: In the electronic and computer technology it is common to have printed circuit boards that contain potentiometers or variable resistors that have a tiny screw which needs to be adjusted to get a referenced value for the circuit to work properly. It is adjusted at the factory but over time it may require readjustment. The trick is to know which screw to adjust.

Sometimes it is a mistake to judge the value of the activity simply for the time that it takes to do it. A good example is the case of an engineer that was called in to fix a very big computer, extremely complex, a computer that cost 12 million dollars.

Sitting in front of the screen, he pressed quite a number of keys, nodded, mumbled something to himself and turned off the machine. He proceeded to take out a small screwdriver from his pocket and rotated a tiny screw one and a half times. Then he turned on the computer and verified that it was working perfectly.

The president of the company was delighted and offered him to pay the invoice at once.

— How much do I owe you? —he asked.
—One thousand dollars, if you please.
— One thousand dollars? One thousand dollars for some minutes of work? One thousand dollars to fasten a simple little screw? I already know that my computer cost 12 million dollars, but one thousand dollars is an absurd amount! I will pay you only if you send me an invoice, perfectly detailed, that justifies it.

The engineer nodded affirmatively and left. The next morning the president received the invoice, he read it carefully, shook his head and proceeded to pay at once, without saying a word. The invoice read:

        Services provided:
        Turned a screw --------------------------- 1 dollar
        To know which screw to turn ---- 999 dollars

Send this e-mail to all those professionals that day-after-day face the lack of consideration of those who through ignorance cannot understand them, and gift them with a least a moment of humor. REMEMBER: "YOU EARN MONEY FOR WHAT YOU KNOW, NOT FOR WHAT YOU DO."
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The Day of the Teacher the children brought gift to their teacher. The son of the baker brought her a very delicious cake; the son of the owner of a plant nursery brought her a beautiful plant; the daughter of the owner of the fruit shop brought her a basket full of fruits, then came the moment of opening the gift of the son of the owner of the liquor store.

The teacher picked up the box so heavy and noticed that something was spilt. She tasted it and said... "is it wine?" and the child answered "no". Then the teacher tasted again and said "is it champagne?" and the child said "no". Then the teacher said: "I give up, what is it?" And the child answered: "it is a little dog".

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. One morning they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, “I hope he doesn't come over here.”

—Where are you folks from?, he asked in a friendly voice.
—Oklahoma, they answered.
—Great to have you here in Tennessee, the stranger said, what do you do for a living?
—I teach at a seminary, he replied.
—Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you.
And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple. The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great. Just what I need... another preacher story!"

The man started:
—See that mountain over there? (Pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up because every place he went he was always asked the same question, “Hey boy, Who's your daddy?” Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, “Who's your daddy?”
—He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so bad. When he was about 12 years old a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, “Who's your daddy?”
—But one day the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, “Son, who's your daddy?”
—The whole church got deathly quiet! He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, “Who's your daddy?” This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy:
—"Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God." With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said: “Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.”
—With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, “Who's your Daddy?”, he'd just tell them, “I'm a Child of God.''

The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said,
—Isn't that a great story?
The professor responded that it really was a great story!
As the man turned to leave, he said,
—You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything! And he walked away.

The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her,
—Do you know who that man was, the one who just left that was sitting at our table?'
The waitress grinned and said:
—Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!
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It happened some time ago in any place. A king appointed as judge a wise man. He was a Taoist. The king trusted that the sage would solve with justice many problems.

The first case of the judge seemed quite simple. It was about a thief that had confessed and was caught “in fraganti” or red-handed. So the sage condemned the thief to a year in prison. But he also condemned the rich.

—How come? —said the rich. I was the victim, and you arrest me?
—Yes, answered the judge. You are as responsible as him, if you had not accumulated so much wealth, he would not have stolen, all you accumulation is responsible of his hunger.

When the king found out about this, he immediately removed the judge from office because he thought thus: “If this man continues his reasoning he will arrive at me.”

The principles of this civilization are incompatible with love that is the only capable force to bring us happiness. The system encourages fastness, competition, consumption of the artificial and superfluous. Love needs patience, solidarity, union and the cultivation of the natural and essential. The economic value is before the human value.

As in the case of the judge, the social unbalance that multiplies generates violence, the solution is found in redistribution. The economy is in ruins by the accumulation of the free flow of money. It is that we confuse the means with the aims: Money is a mean, only buys what is cheap, it does not buy love, neither the smile of a child, nor the fresh air.
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As you might know, the head of a company survived 9/11 because his son started kindergarten. Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts. One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off in time. One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto accident. One of them missed his bus. One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change. One's car wouldn't start. One went back to answer the telephone. One had a child that dawdled and didn't get ready as soon as he should have. One couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.

Next time your morning seems to be going wrong, the children are slow getting dressed, you can't seem to find the car keys, you hit every traffic light, don't get mad or frustrated. Someone is at work watching over you. May you continue to be blessed with all those annoying little things and may you remember their possible purpose. Pass this on to someone else, if you'd like. There is NO LUCK attached. If you delete this, it's okay: Love and good luck is Not Dependent On E-Mails !! (That's the cool part.)
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Several times in life, in love, conflicts spring up because of lovers' little freedom. This story teaches us many truths that we are unable to see before our eyes.

One day the son of a brave warrior fell in love with a beautiful maid and both decided to marry after getting their parents' consensus.

Since they loved each other so much, and knowing the dangers of living together, they decided to visit the tribe' witch to prepare for them a spell that would make their love and their alliance really eternal.

The witch told the warrior:
—Go to the Mountains of the North and climb to the highest one you find and when you are at the top search for the most vigorous hawk, the strongest and most valiant of all. You must hunt it and bring it here alive.

Then addressing the beautiful girl he said:
—You go to the Mountains of the South and search in the cordillera for the best hunting eagle, the one that flies the highest and has the deepest stare. You alone must hunt her and bring her here alive.

After several days of walking in the mountains, the warrior and the girl got their objectives and came back to the witch highly satisfied with the beautiful birds.

— ¿What should we do with them? —they asked him.
— These birds are beautiful and strong, aren't they? —asked them the witch.
— Yes, they responded. They are the best there are and cost us a great deal to capture them.
— Did you see them fly very high and fast? —asked them the witch again.
— Yes. They flew higher and faster than anyone else —answered both of them.
— Very well. Now I want you to tie each other by their feet.

The youngsters did so and, following the instructions of the witch, released them then. The poor birds tried to fly but since they were tied to each other, they hindered each other and could not do it. The only thing they were able to do was to stumble upon each other and hurting each other they knocked themselves down on the floor.

— ¿Do you see what happens to these birds? —the witch said to them— Tied to each other none of them is capable of flying although when they were alone they did it very high. This is the spell I give to you for your love to be everlasting:

May your alliance not be an attachment for any of you but force and breath to grow and improve as people.

May your love not create dependencies but that it manifest the affection and solidarity of those who share the same bread.

Respect each other as people and let each one be able to fly freely to go learning to fly together by the wide sky.

If you act like this your love could be really eternal because never will be a limitation but a stimulus for each one to be able to grow.

True is that everything that limits the soul dies sooner or later in this life because our supreme law is to grow and evolve as people.

Dies an unhappy love that clamps lovers down and oppresses them as people. Dies with happiness as when somebody suddenly comes out free of a jail where his soul was a prisoner.

But also dies a happy love although it dies with pain. Dies when softens the lovers and makes them more vulnerable and dependent upon each other as people.

The only love that never dies, the only love that overcomes even death is that sacred pact of the souls by which both help each other in their evolution, for which they respect each other so they can be free and at the same time supportive to each other.

If you want your love to be really immortal, do not stifle with your arm the freedom of your lover and so that your pact be always the one of mutual growth.

May your love give you strength to fly very high as the eagles in the sky, to fly together tracing circles in the sky and also to know to fly in solitaire without attachments and without fears.

Only so your love will be able to be really everlasting because not only it will be nourishment and joy for the body, but strength for the spirit.
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CHILD SPANKED BY A NEIGHBOR
A child was spanked by a neighbor and the furious mother went out to ask her for an explanation:
—Why did you spank my son?
—For badmannered, he called me fat.
—And do you think that by spanking him you get slim down?

PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION
Two friends reunite after many years.
—I got married, divorced and already did the property distribution.
—And the children?
—The judge decided that they would stay with who got more property.
—Then will they stay with the mother?
—No, they will stay with our lawyer.

DIET TO LOSE WEIGHT
—Doctor, what do I do to lose weight?
—It is enough to move the head from left to right and from right to left.
—How many times, doctor?
—Every time they offer you food.

EMERGENCY
The electrician goes into the room of the Unit of Intensive Care of a hospital, looks at the patients connected to various types of apparatuses and tells them:
—Breathe deeply in: I am going to change a fuse…

CONFESSION
The condemned man to death waits for the hour of execution when the priest arrives:
—Son, I bring the word of God for you.
—You waste your time, Father. Within short time I am going to speak with him personally. Any message for him?

FUNERAL SERVICE
The old man just died.
The priest in the funeral ceremony over praises him:
—The deceased was a good husband, excellent Christian, an exemplary father!!...
The widow turned towards one of her children and says to him in his ear:
—Go to the coffin and check if the one inside is your father…

PRIEST POLITICIAN
A donkey dies in front of a church. At about a week later the body still remains there, so the priest decides to call the Prefect.
—Prefect, I have a donkey, dead for about a week, in front of the church!
The Prefect, great political adversary of the priest, answers:
—But, Father, is it not the Lord's duty to take care of the dead?
—That's right! But it is also my obligation to inform the relatives!

THE GENIE
An arab walked in the desert when he found a lamp.
When he opened it, surprise!, there appeared a genie:
—Hello! I am a genie of a single wish, at your command.
—Then I want peace in the Middle East. See this map: may all these countries live in peace!

The genie looked at the map and says:
—Be real, friend. These countries wage war to each other since five thousand years ago! And to tell you the truth, I am good, but not as good as for that. Ask for something else.
—Well… I never found the ideal woman. You know… I'd like a woman that has a sense of humor, that likes to clean the house, do laundry, iron, that is not talkative, that likes football soccer, that appreciates beer, faithful, joyous, pretty, affectionate, and that she doesn't matter that I do not have money.