The stories La tells....

Two fish lived in a pond.
Their names were Satabuddhi (having the understanding of a hundred) and Sahasrabuddhi (having the understanding of a thousand).
The two of them had a frog for a friend, whose name was Ekabuddhi (having the understanding of one).

For a time they would enjoy friendly conversation on the bank, and then they would return to the water. One day when they had gathered for conversation, some fishermen came by just as the sun was setting. They were carrying nets in their hands and many dead fish on their heads.

When the fishermen saw the pond, they said to one another, "There seem to be a lot of fish in this pond, and the water is very low. Let us come back here tomorrow morning!" After saying this, they went home.

These words struck the three friends like a thunderbolt, and they took counsel with one another.

The frog said, "Oh, my dear Satabuddhi and Sahasrabuddhi, what shall we do? Should we flee, or stay here?"

Hearing this, Sahasrabuddhi laughed and said, "Oh, my friend, don't be afraid of words alone! They probably will not come back. But even if they do come back, I will be able to protect myself and you as well, through the power of my understanding, for I know many pathways through the water."

After hearing this, Satabuddhi said, "Yes, what Sahasrabuddhi says is correct, for one rightly says: Where neither the wind nor the sun's rays have found a way, intelligent understanding will quickly make a path. And also: Everything on earth is subject to the understanding of those with intelligence. Why should one abandon the place of one's birth that has been passed down from generation to generation, just because of words? We must not retreat a single step! I will protect you through the power of my understanding."

The frog said, "I have but one wit, and it is advising me to flee. This very day I shall go with my wife to another pond."

After saying this, as soon as it was night, the frog went to another pond.

Early the next day the fishermen came like servants of the god of death and spread their nets over the pond. All the fish, turtles, frogs, crabs, and other water creatures were caught in the nets and captured, also Satabuddhi and Sahasrabuddhi, although they fled, and through their knowledge of the various paths escaped for a while by swimming to and fro. But they too, together with their wives, fell into a net and were killed.

That afternoon the fishermen happily set forth toward home. Because of his weight, one of them carried Satabuddhi on his head. They tied Sahasrabuddhi onto a string and dragged him along behind.

The frog Ekabuddhi, who had climbed onto the bank of his pond, said to his wife, "Look, dear! Mr. Hundred-Wit lies on someone's head, and Mr. Thousand-Wit is hanging from a string. But Mr. Single-Wit, my dear, is playing here in the clear water."

Here's a good rule of thumb: Too clever is dumb.
(Ogden Nash)

A picture once was shown,
In which one man, alone,
Upon the ground had thrown
A lion fully grown.

Much gloried at the sight the rabble.
A lion thus rebuked their babble:—

That you have got the victory there,
There is no contradiction.
But, gentles, possibly you are
The dupes of easy fiction:
Had we the art of making pictures,
Perhaps our champion had beat yours!"


Until the lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.
African Proverb

A wonderful message for all of us!!
(blog music can be turned off at the bottom of the page)

Problem:
One Cookie.
Two Kids.

Solution:
One child divides the cookie in half.
The other child gets first choice of halves.

American Folk Advice from Peace Tales
by Margaret Read MacDonald

HOW TWO BOYS SETTLED A QUARREL

Flying Squirrel and Lightning Bow were brothers.
They lived by Singing River, and they played from sunrise to sunset.
They were as happy as the day was long.

In the summer, they fished and swam in Singing River, and they shot their arrows into chipmunk and woodpecker holes.
Sometimes they played "Dodging Arrows," a game their mother had taught them.

In the winter, they jumped into snowdrifts and rolled until they became red with cold. Then they would send their snow-snakes skimming over the hard crust of snow.
(Snow-snakes were small rods of wood, polished smooth with resin, oil, or wax. They could be thrown long distances. Their father--could throw a snow-snake a mile and a half. But the snow-snakes he used were eight feet
long and tipped with lead.)

It was the Moon of Berries. Flying Squirrel and Lightning Bow were six years old. And not once in all their lives had they quarreled.

One morning, Flying Squirrel and Lightning Bow planned a foot race.
Seven times they were to run.
Three times, Flying Squirrel reached the goal first.
Three times, Lightning Bow had outrun him.
The seventh race was so close that each boy claimed the victory.
No one saw them run, so no one could decide the game.
For the first time in their lives the boys quarrelled.

The boys voices became louder and louder as they became more and more angry.

Their mother, was baking corn bread on the coals of their fire, when the sound of angry voices reached her ears.
She stepped to the door. "For shame!" she called. "Both of you come here."
When the boys reached their mother, they saw that she was holding three sticks.
"These are Argument sticks" she said, "They will help you settle your disagreement."
Then she showed the boys how to set up the sticks so they would stand for many days.
"Now go into the woods, set up your sticks, and leave your quarrel there. When the Berry Moon has passed, you will return and see if the sticks are still standing. If they lean toward the rising sun, Lightning Bow is right. If they lean toward the setting sun, Flying Squirrel is right. If they have fallen down, neither of you are right and neither won."

Lightning Bow and Flying Squirrel went into the woods and set up their
sticks.
Then they began to throw balls with willow wands, and soon they were happy again.

The sun had risen and set many times.
The Berry Moon had passed.
It was the Thunder Moon when the boys mother said to them, "Today you may go into the woods and see if your sticks are still standing."

Hand in hand, the two little boys ran into the woods.
They found only a heap of rotting sticks.
Flying Squirrel and Lightning Bow stood and looked at the sticks.
They thought and thought.

"What did we set up the sticks for?" each asked of the other.
And for the life of them they could not remember what they had quarrelled about, and why they had set up the sticks!

Retold by LaurenLanita original story found in Stories the Iroquois Tell Their Children @ Project Gutenberg





Here's a wonderful list of books that deal with a variety of difficult situations......stress, conflict resolution, methods of dealing with fear, death, etc. As well as topics like peace, tolerance and unity.
Finding Comfort in Books

A grandson came home from school one day and told his grandfather how angry he was at a schoolmate who had done him an injustice.
His grandfather said, "Let me tell you a story."

"I, too, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.
But, hate wears you down and does not hurt your enemy.
It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die.
I have struggled with these feelings many times.

It is as if there are two wolves inside me: one is good and does no harm.
He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended.
He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

But the other wolf is full of anger.
The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper.
He fights with everyone, all the time, for no reason.
He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great.

It is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of then try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The grandfather solemnly replied, "The one I feed."

Origin Unknown (I have seen it with the grandfather said to be Cherokee)
but I found the story at Story-Lovers.com

I love quotes...good quotes.
Today I came across some good quotes by Mother Theresa.

You are likely wondering what this has to do with storytelling.
Good question. I suppose it depends on the quote or on your reason for telling stories.
Many of Mother Theresa's quotes are great for starting or ending a storytelling session about Peace or Compassion or Diversity or Love or....well the list could go on and on.
Or you might tell the story of Mother Theresa's life to children of almost any age using her own words (quotes) to make it more personal.
Think about it while you read these quotes.


If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong
to each other.
Mother Teresa

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to
that person, a beautiful thing.
Mother Teresa

Peace begins with a smile.
Mother Teresa

Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the
beginning of love.
Mother Teresa

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.
Mother Teresa

The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather
the feeling of being unwanted.
Mother Teresa

There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well.
They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste.
When I see people throwing away things that we could use.
Mother Teresa

We, the unwilling,led by the unknowing,are doing the impossible for the
ungrateful. We have done so much,for so long,with so little,we are now
qualified to do anything with nothing.
Mother Teresa

There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those.
Mother Teresa

It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to
love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve
hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved
in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our
love for each other must start.
Mother Teresa

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can
be no more hurt, only more love.
Mother Teresa


Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.
Mother Teresa


We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless.
The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest
poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.
Mother Teresa


Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for
greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children
have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for
each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world.
Mother Teresa


I hope you have enjoyed these little bits of wisdom from Mother Theresa.
Remember to SMILE!!

Love, Laughter, Peace and Blessings to you all!

The 3 Princes who were Blockheads

A Folktale from India retold by La

Once there was a wise king who had three sons, but they were………hmmm, well there is no nice way to say it, all three of his sons were Blockheads.
Not only did they know nothing (really I mean absolutely nothing), but if anyone
tried to teach them anything they closed their ears and their minds and sat looking
as dumb as, well as dumb as chucks of wood.

The king was in total despair.
Finally, at his wits end he called all of his counselors together,
and told them how worried he was about his sons.
"What can I do?" he cried.

The counselors began giving him all of the same old well used suggestions,more tutors etc.,
"No, no, no!", the king cried. "I have tried all of those things before!"
At long last, one of the counselors asked, "Why not trust them to Vishnusharma, the sage? It is said that he is so full of wisdom that he can make even the greatest truths clear to the mind of a child."

The king thought this a marvelous idea and summoned the sage from his hermitage.
When Vishnusharma arrived the king said, " I beg you, O Vishnusharma, waken the
minds of my three sons.
If you can do this and I will reward you with tracts of land."

Vishnusharma replied, "I have no need for land, but in six months time I will waken the sleeping mind of the three princes."
On hearing these words, the kings heart lightened.
And so the sage was given a small home in the corner of the palace garden.

The three blockhead princes had no idea who the old man living in the garden was.
In spite of themselves, they became curious about him.
And as no one would tell them about him, they spent a great deal of their time watching him.

Eventually the youngest prince asked the sage if there were lions and tigers where he came from.
The sage replied that there were, and quite naturally began to tell them a story about a lion.

Now it happened that above all else the three princes loved to be entertained.
When the old man, began telling his story the three sat with their ears and their minds open,
never suspecting that they were being taught anything by a story.

The first story ended in such a way that it led into another story, and the princes eagerly asked "What happened next?"
And so Vishnusharma told the second story, and the princes listened to him for the rest of the day.
When night fell, they made him promise to continue telling stories the next day.

The sage was wise enough to choose stories full of laughter, common sense, and wisdom.
The stories were full of wise saying from literature and the sacred writings of India.

After the first set of stories, the princes were overjoyed with their new friend and begged his to tell them the stories again and again until they knew them by heart.
Then the old man began another set of stories and so it continued for six months.

At the end of the six months, the princes who were blockheads, and proud of it,
knew all five sets of stories, and many of the wise sayings from literature and sacred writings.

And the princes who had once proudly closed their ears and their minds,
now permanently had their ears and minds wide open.

The king was greatly pleased with his sons and found that they were now ready to take their place in assisting him with the ruling of the kingdom.

The stories that the sage told to the three princes are in the Panchatantra, or Five Books, which has been translated into many languages.

So if there are any of you who desire a simple(?) path to wisdom you may read the stories in the Panchatantra yourselves.

Retold by LaurenLanita