The Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time there were three little pigs and the time came for them to leave home and seek their fortunes.
Before they left, their mother told them " Whatever you do , do it the best that you can because that's the way to get along in the world.
The first little pig built his house out of straw because it was the easiest thing to do.
The second little pig built his house out of sticks. This was a little bit stronger than a straw house.
The third little pig built his house out of bricks.
One night the big bad wolf, who dearly loved to eat fat little piggies, came along and saw the first little pig in his house of straw. He said "Let me in, Let me in, little pig or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in!"
"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", said the little pig.
But of course the wolf did blow the house in and ate the first little pig.
The wolf then came to the house of sticks.
"Let me in ,Let me in little pig or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in" "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin", said the little pig. But the wolf blew that house in too, and ate the second little pig.
The wolf then came to the house of bricks.
" Let me in , let me in" cried the wolf
"Or I'll huff and I'll puff till I blow your house in"
"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" said the pigs.
Well, the wolf huffed and puffed but he could not blow down that brick house.
But the wolf was a sly old wolf and he climbed up on the roof to look for a way into the brick house.

The little pig saw the wolf climb up on the roof and lit a roaring fire in the fireplace and placed on it a large kettle of water.
When the wolf finally found the hole in the chimney he crawled down and KERSPLASH right into that kettle of water and that was the end of his troubles with the big bad wolf.
The next day the little pig invited his mother over . She said "You see it is just as I told you. The way to get along in the world is to do things as well as you can." Fortunately for that little pig, he learned that lesson. And he just lived happily ever after!
(The above version of this story was transcribed from a promotional audiotape that was distributed by BurgerKing in approximately 1989)

The Lion and the Mouse

A lion was sleeping one day when a little mouse came along and ran up and down over his face.
This awakened the lion and made him very angry.
He put his paw over the mouse and said, "What do you mean by waking me? You shall pay for this," and he opened his big mouth to swallow the mouse.
"Oh, do not kill me, Mr. Lion!" squealed the mouse. "I did not mean to waken you. Do let me go and I will never trouble you again."
"No, I will not let you go," roared the lion.
"Please do," cried the frightened mouse. "If you will let me go perhaps I can do something for you sometime."
This made the lion laugh. "You do something for me ," he said. "What a joke! Well, you are such a little fellow that I will let you go this time, but never let me see you about here again," and he lifted his paw.
As the little mouse scampered off, he said, "Thank you, kind lion, I shall not forget your kindness."
Some time after this the lion was caught in a trap. The hunters tied him to a tree while they went to get a wagon to carry him away.
The lion roared so loud that the ground shook. The little mouse heard him.
"That lion is in trouble," he said. "I will see what I can do to help him," and he ran to the lion.
When the mouse saw that the lion was tied with ropes, he said, "Cheer up, Mr. Lion. Be quiet and I will set you free," and he began gnawing the ropes.
He worked long and hard and at last the lion was free.
(from Fifty Famous Fables , by Lida Brown McMurry)

A Painted Snake Makes a Man Sick

In the Jin Dynasty, there lived a man named Le Guang, who had a bold and uninhabited character and was very friendly. One day Le Guang sent for one of his close friends since the friend had not turned out for long.
At the first sight of his friend, Le Guang realized that something must have happened to his friend for his friend has no peace of mind all the time. So he asked his friend what was the matter. "It was all because of that banquet held at your home. At the banquet, you proposed a toast to me and just when we raised the glasses, I noticed that there was a little snake lying in the wine and I felt particularly sick. Since then, I lay in bed unable to do anything."
Le Guang was very puzzled at the matter. He looked around and then saw a bow with a painted snake hung on the wall of his room.
So Le Guang laid the table at the original place and asked his friend again to have a drink. When the glass was filled with wine, he pointed to the shade of the bow in the glass and asked his friend to see. His friend observed nervously, "Well, well, that is what I saw last time. It is the same snake." Le Guang laughed and took off the bow on the wall. "Could you see the snake any more?" he asked. His friend was surprised to find that the snake was no longer in the wine. Since the whole truth had come out, his friend recovered from his prolonged illness right away.
For thousands of years the story has been told to advise people not to be too suspicious unnecessarily.

Fish for the Moon in the Well

One evening, the clever man, Huojia went to fetch some water from the well. To his surprise, when he looked into the well, he found the moon sunk in the well shining. "Oh, good Heavens, what a pity! The beautiful moon has dropped into the well!" so he dashed home for a hook, and tied it with the rope for his bucket, then put it into the well to fish for the moon.
After some time of hunting for the moon, Haojia was pleased to find that something was caught by the hook.. He must have thought it was the moon. He pulled hard by the rope. Due to the excessive pulling, the rope broke into apart and Haojia fell flat on his back. Taking the advantage of that post, Haojia saw the moon again high in the sky. He sighed with emotion, "Aha, it finally came back to its place! What a good job! He felt very happy and told whomever he met with about the wonderment proudly without knowing what he did was something impractical.

The lion and the jungle

Long years ago, Young Banyan Tree complained to the Old Banyan Tree about his small role to help other creatures in the jungle. Every morning and daytime, he had to inhale dirty air and with the help of sun, he had to spread fresh air for the animals to breath. He had to prepare his thick leaves to prepare the place for birds to make their nest and for other animals to take shelter under him.
“Try to keep going green to make the animals around us happy!” Old Banyan Tree said.
“I feel that I am just passive creature. I cannot walk any where like what lions, monkeys and elephants do. Although snakes have no leg, they still can go anywhere.” Young Banyan complained.
“Your leaves, which fall to the ground, make the soil fertile.” Old Banyan Tree said.
“But it does not prove that I am powerful and important creature.”
“Hi Young Banyan, you are a kind of plants. You are one of important parts in food chain and creature interaction in this jungle. Plants have very important role. Although lions are strong animals, they cannot live without plant” Old Banyan Tree tried to make Young Banyan Tree’s feeling better.
“Why should I care about lion? They are evil animals. They eat other animals in this jungle.” Young Banyan Tree complained.
“Lions just follow their natural instinct. They eat because they are hungry and need to eat. Unlike greedy human beings, for lions, enough is enough. Greedy human beings hunt for pleasure, pride, and greediness. This world is not enough for greedy human beings.” Old Banyan Tree explained.
“Why must I go green? Why should I care about other? What is the benefit for me?” Small Banyan Tree still complained.
“It is the calling from the Creator to do your small role in this universe. Kid, just do your role and you will understand,” Old Banyan Tree said.
Once upon a time, five greedy illegal loggers came to the jungle to exploit the wood. Not only did they cut the trees for money but they also hunted the animal for pride and pleasure. For them, “enough” is not enough and for their greediness, this world is not enough.
Five illegal loggers stood in front of Small Banyan Tree. They did not care whether it was still not old enough to cut. They were interested to cut and prepare their tools.
Read more: http://authspot.com/short-stories/fable-story-lion-and-the-jungle/#ixzz1DLToKeP9

A Mantis Trying to Stop a Chariot

When somebody overrates himself, he is often warned: "Don't be a mantis trying to stop a chariot." The saying comes from a legend dated back to the Spring and Autumn Period.
One day, the King of Qi went out for a hunting with his men. The carriages were going along, when suddenly a mantis stood in the middle of the road with its sickle-like forelegs opened. It was obvious that he was trying to fight against the carriage to hold it back. Surprised at the case, the King of Qi ordered to stop and asked what creature it was. When he was told it was called mantis, and it would go well up to bridle decisively when it was challenged. The King sighed with exclamation at its braveness. He mused a moment and added: "It's a great pity that it is not more than an insect. If it were a man, he must be the bravest warrior in the world!" Then the King ordered his carriages turn around it to leave the mantis there standing martially.
When the persons around heard the King's words, they were well touched and determined to devote themselves to the country.
As time passed, the meaning of the phrase changed to its opposite. Now it means that someone overrates oneself and try to hold back an overwhelmingly superior force.

The Donkey of Guizhou

A Chinese fable story
Once upon a time there was no donkey in Guizhou. So someone officious shipped one there, but finding no use for it, he set it loose at the foot of the mountain.
A tiger ran out from the mountains. When he saw this big tall thing, he thought it must be divine. He quickly hid himself in the forest and surveyed it from under cover. Sometimes the tiger ventured a little nearer, but still kept a respectful distance. a
One day the tiger came out again. Just then the donkey gave a loud bray. Thinking the donkey was going to eat him, the tiger hurriedly ran away. After a while he sneaked back and watched the donkey carefully. He found that though it had a huge body it seemed to have no special ability.
After a few days the tiger gradually became accustomed to its braying and was no longer so afraid. Sometimes he even came near and circled around the donkey.
Later the tiger became bolder. Once he walked in front of the donkey and purposely bumped it. This made the donkey so angry that it struck out his hind legs and kicked wildly.
Seeing this the tiger was very gleeful, 'Such a big thing as you can do so little!' With a roar he pounced on the donkey and ate it up.
Written by our column writer Hao Zhuo.