The Clever Fox

The fox decided to use all his cunning means to get the piece of bread
from the mouth of the crow. He sat under the tree. The crow saw him and
thought, I guess this fox wants to eat my bread. I shall hold it carefully."
And he held on to the bread even more tightly.

The clever fox spoke to the crow politely. He said, Hello friend! How are
you?" But the crow did not say anything.

Crows are such lovely birds. And you are very charming too," said the
fox, flattering the crow.

Then the fox said," I have heard that besides being beautiful you also
have a sweet voice. Please sing a song for me."

By now the crow started to believe what the fox was saying. The fox
knows true beauty. I must be the most beautiful bird in this whole world. I
will sing him a song," thought the crow.

As soon as the foolish crow opened his mouth to sing the bread fell from
its beak and into the ground. The Clever fox, which had just been waiting
for this very moment, caught the bread in his mouth and gulped it down
his throat.

The crow had paid a heavy price for his foolishness. .

 The Clever Fox
by John Williams

There once lived a crow. One day he was very hungry. He

had not been able to get any food the previous day. If I do
not get anything to eat I will starve to death," he thought.

As the crow was searching for food, his eyes fell on a piece
of bread. He quickly swooped down, picked it up and flew
off. Far away in a lonely place he sat on a tree to enjoy the
bread.

Just then a hungry fox saw the crow sitting on the tree
holding the bread in his mouth. Yummy! That bread looks
delicious. What I would give to get that piece of bread," the
fox thought.
 Lost Love
by Anju Vanil

She stared long and hard at the man in front of her. He was
handsome, she thought. What bothered her, was the fact
that she still found him attractive. He towered over her five
feet six, with dark hair and chocolate-brown eyes. Her lost
love. She saw his lips moving, but did not hear the words
that came out of his mouth.

Seeing her confusion, he shook her lightly. There was

vulnerability in her eyes, he thought. She was still oh so
beautiful but her eyes were rimmed with unshed tears. He
looked at the helpless woman in front of him and his heart
broke all over. He still loved her, but she wasnt privy to the
fact.
 Lost Love
He has really moved on, she thought. She thought she did too, until she
ran into him unexpectedly. Last she heard, he was somewhere in Europe,
his job requiring him to travel all over the world. And yes, she stalked him
secretly, to find out this tad bit of information. They were, after all,
inseparable once tightly bound together with their love. She scoffed
mentally. That was the first and the last time she had ever allowed her
heart to be someone elses. But now, seeing him here at their hometown,
she was shell-shocked and at a loss for words. The pain that was buried
somewhere deep within her, struggled to be let out.

Hey Can u hear me? his concerned voice finally, filtered through the
fog inside her brain

He saw her wincing slightly and he just knew she was as hurt now, as she
was five years ago when they decided it would not work between them
anymore. Neither of them had wanted to let go of the other, but fate had
other plans for them. She was initially, careless and reckless with what
they had, that it hurt him to his core. But when she did realize her
mistakes, he felt it was too late for them, for what was a relationship
without trust??? And no matter how much he or she wanted to continue
what they had, he only felt it would end up in both hurting over and over.
No, he didnt want that. But seeing her now, he felt unsure. He still
yearned to call her his.

Yes.. I didnt expect to run into you here she voiced out her thoughts,
her sentence breaking many times in between.
 Lost Love
He scratched his head in that adorable, sheepish way. Yeah.. I was just
visiting. How. he cleared his throat how are you?

She laughed lightly and humorless. Been better. And yourself??

Just peachy!! he drawled out sarcastically.

She smiled for real this time, sensing his sarcasm. She still wanted to be
his.. As quickly as that thought entered her mind, she sobered up. No, she
wouldnt survive another heartbreak. The last one had her in stitches,
literally.

I should probably go. It was nice seeing you here Aadi. she said, his
nickname falling out of her mouth.

They both froze. He hadnt heard that name in so long, that it tugged his
heart in ways he never dreamed of.

She made a beeline for exit, but as she did, he caught her hand. She
could see the resolve harden in his eyes. Without warning he snatched
her phone that she had in her hand. Oddly, she didnt feel angry or
irritated at his actions.

He opened the dial pad and quickly called his phone. Im not letting her
go this time , he thought.
 Lost Love
Remember our promises??? Lets go by them one by one, yeah? he
whispered to her.

For the first time in five years, she laughed out in pure joy. Lightly tucking
her hair behind her ears, she looked up to him.

Yeah.
 All the Difference in The World
by J.K. Rowling

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park

near my home. Theres a lake located in one corner of
the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same
elderly woman sitting at the waters edge with a small
metal cage sitting beside her.

This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I

stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got
closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a
small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly
walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth
turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a
spongy brush.
 All the Difference in the World
Hello, I said. I see you here every Sunday morning. If you
dont mind my nosiness, Id love to know what youre doing
with these turtles.

She smiled. Im cleaning off their shells, she replied.

Anything on a turtles shell, like algae or scum, reduces the
turtles ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim.
It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.

Wow! Thats really nice of you! I exclaimed.

She went on: I spend a couple of hours each Sunday

morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys
out. Its my own strange way of making a difference.

But dont most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with
algae and scum hanging from their shells? I asked.

Yep, sadly, they do, she replied.

 All the Difference in the World
I scratched my head. Well then, dont you think your time
could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind
and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all
around the world. And 99% of these turtles dont have kind
people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no
offense but how exactly are your localized efforts here
truly making a difference?

The woman giggled aloud. She then looked down at the

turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its
shell, and said, Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, hed tell
you I just made all the difference in the world.
 The Weight of the Glass
by J.K. Rowling

Once upon a time a psychology professor walked around on

a stage while teaching stress management principles to an
auditorium filled with students. As she raised a glass of
water, everyone expected theyd be asked the typical glass
half empty or glass half full question. Instead, with a smile
on her face, the professor asked, How heavy is this glass of
water Im holding?

Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to

a couple pounds.

She replied, From my perspective, the absolute weight of

this glass doesnt matter. It all depends on how long I hold it.
If I hold it for a minute or two, its fairly light.
 The Weight of the Glass
If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and
feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the
glass to the floor. In each case, the weight of the glass doesnt
change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.

As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued,

Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass
of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens.
Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little.
Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely
numb and paralyzed incapable of doing anything else until
you drop them.
 Shark Bait
by J.K. Rowling

During a research experiment a marine biologist placed a

shark into a large holding tank and then released several
small bait fish into the tank.

As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the

tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish.

The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear

fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She
then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new
set of bait fish on the other.
 Shark Bait
The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear
fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She
then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set
of bait fish on the other.

Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the

shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off.
Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few
minutes to no avail. Meanwhile, the bait fish swam around
unharmed in the second partition. Eventually, about an hour
into the experiment, the shark gave up.

This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the

next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive and
made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the
shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply
stopped attacking altogether.

The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but

the shark didnt attack. The shark was trained to believe a
barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish
swam wherever they wished, free from harm.
 Madeline
by Quinn Finlayson

In 1964 there was a small town called Portland.

A little girl that lived in Portland is named Madeline,
She was very poor, unhealthy but very intelligent girl.
Madeline had had a very sick dad to look after and the worst
Part about it was that her and her father had to live on the
Streets. Every minute they lived was a stepping stone to
Death.

One day Madeline and her dad were sitting in the gutter and
a very rich lady came along and said are you ok
Little girl.
 Madeline
Madeline looked up and said no in a very sad way.

Well can I help you at all said the rich lady .

Im not supposed to talk to strangers said Madeline.

Well the least I can do is check if your father is alright

Ok but dont hurt him said Madeline, I wont

The rich lady explained. Your father is going to have to go

to hospital and stay the night.

After a few weeks Madelines father was a lot better.

The doctor came and said who is taking this man home.

The lady replied I will.

She went and told Madeline and her father,

They were ecstatic!
 Love You Forever
by Robert Munsch

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him
back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she
held him, she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew

until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house.
He pulled all the books off the shelves.
 Love You Forever
He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his
mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his
mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!"

But at night time, when that two-year-old was quiet, she

opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor,
looked up over the side of his bed; and if he was really
asleep she picked him up and rocked him back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth. While she rocked him she
sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The little boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He

grew until he was nine years old. And he never wanted to
come in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath, and
when grandma visited he always said bad words.
Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!
 Love You Forever
But at night time, when he was asleep, the mother quietly
opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and
looked up over the side of the bed. If he was really asleep,
she picked up that nine-year-old boy and rocked him back
and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she
rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

The boy grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew

until he was a teenager. He had strange friends and he wore
strange clothes and he listened to strange music.
Sometimes the mother felt like she was in a zoo!

But at night time, when that teenager was asleep, the mother
opened the door to his room, crawled across the floor and
looked up over the side of the bed.
 Love You Forever
If he was really asleep she picked up that great big boy and
rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
While she rocked him she sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

That teenager grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He

grew until he was a grown-up man. He left home and got a
house across town.But sometimes on dark nights the mother
got into her car and drove across town. If all the lights in her
son's house were out, she opened his bedroom window,
crawled across the floor, and looked up over the side of his
bed.

If that great big man was really asleep she picked him up
and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and
forth.
 Love You Forever
And while she rocked him she sang:
I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.

Well, that mother, she got older. She got older and older and
older. One day she called up her son and said, "You'd better
come see me because I'm very old and sick." So her son
came to see her. When he came in the door she tried to sing
the song. She sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always...

But she couldn't finish because she was too old and sick.
The son went to his mother. He picked her up and rocked
her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
 Love You Forever
And he sang this song:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my Mommy you'll be.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long
time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room
where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked
her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he
sang:

I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.