The Golden Axe

 Hello everyone,

    The story that I am going to tell you today is based in Europe. I do not know where exactly. I had read this story when I was a little girl and I don’t even remember where I read it.

    It’s about a very poor woodcutter. He loses his axe in the river and then a fairy brings him a golden axe. Read on and find out whether he was honest or not.

The Golden Axe

    Once upon a time, there was a very poor old woodcutter. He went to the forest everyday and cut wood with a very old and broken axe. He cut wood with great difficulty with it. The poor man had no choice. He would sell whatever little wood he was able to cut and buy his food with the money he got. The money was so little that he was hardly able to buy enough food for himself let alone buy a new axe.

    One day, when he was cutting wood he suddenly felt so hungry and so tired that he decided to sit down and rest his aching arms before he continued with his work. Now as he sat down on the bank of a river to rest, his axe fell slipped from his hand and fell into the river. The woodcutter was devastated! He did not know what to do. So he sat down sadly on a tree stump with his head in his hands and began to think what to do.

     Suddenly, he heard a rustling and he looked up. To his utmost surprise he saw a fairy standing there!

    The woodcutter blinked his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real.

    “I am the wood fairy,” she said, in a very sweet voice and then asked, “Why are you so sad?”

    “Oh, nothing,” he replied, “It’s just that my axe has fallen into the river and I don’t know how to get it out.”

    “Is that all?” she asked, smiling at him.

    “Yes,” replied the woodcutter.

    “Well, I seem to have found an axe,” she said, and showed him a golden axe and asked. “Is this yours?”

    The old woodcutter looked at it and said at once, “No, it isn’t.”

    Then, the fairy showed him a silver axe.

    “Is this yours?” she asked him again.

    “No, it isn’t,” the woodcutter replied again at once.

    Then, the fairy showed him his old broken axe!

    “Is this your axe?” she asked.

    “Yes, it is,” replied the woodcutter, joyfully.

    The fairy looked at him and then she said, “You are a very honest man, and because of that you can have both the golden axe and the silver axe.”

    The woodcutter opened his mouth to thank her but she had already disappeared.

    The woodcutter took all three axes and went home joyfully.

    From that day onwards he never had to work so hard any more.

The Bully in School

Hello everyone,

    Today’s story is my own creation and I have based this story in Tanzania, Africa.

    Do you know where Tanzania is?

    It is located in East Africa. It is a beautiful country with lots of greenery. It is well known for its parks of wild animals. You can get the tastiest fruits and vegetables there.

    The staple food of the Tanzanians is ugali. Ugali is made of maize flour and is eaten with anything, like boiled vegetables or meat or fish. Sometimes it is eaten dried fish.

    The people of Tanzania are very friendly and they welcome guests with open arms.

    So now you know a bit about Tanzania go ahead and read the story.

The Bully in School

    Francis was a ten year old boy. When you look at him nobody could even imagine that he was the meanest boy in his class. He loved to bully the other children. Whenever he saw a girl or a boy with something new, he would bully that child and get it. It was not like his father could not afford to buy him whatever he wanted, but it was just that he was a very spoilt child. He always got what he wanted whenever he wanted by his parents. All he had to do was ask and he would get it. Because of this reason, if he wanted something he had to have it at all costs! It was his opinion that he had to have what he wanted and nobody should have what he had!

    One day, Alice, one of his classmates, brought a compass box. It was a beautiful pink one with the picture of Barbie on it. Alice was an orphan. She did not a father or a mother. She lived with her grandmother who was very fond of her. But being poor her grandmother was not able to buy her many things much as she wanted to. One day she saw this compass in a shop and since she had some money in her purse she bought it for her grand-daughter. She knew that Alice would look after it well. The compass box did not have anything inside and Alice put her own pencil, eraser and a small ruler inside it. She hardly got any presents and when she got this box she was delighted.

    The next day she carried to school. Now Francis saw it and he liked it. Although he knew that it was a girl’s compass box, he had to have it.

    He went to Alice as soon as he saw it.

    “Give me that box,” he demanded as if it belonged to him.

    “No, I won’t,” said Alice, “it’s mine. My grandmother bought it for me.”

    “So what,” Francis said. “I want it, because I like it and you give it to me right now.”

    “No, I won’t,” said Alice, clutching the compass box tightly. “I’ll tell teacher.”

    “Ha! Even if you tell teacher nothing will happen to me,” he said, boldly. “You give me that box or I’ll beat you and take it from you.”

    Alice began to cry. All the children were now surrounded there. They were watching what was going on. They knew that if Francis wanted something he would have it no matter what. But this time everyone was on Alice’s side. Everybody knew that she hardly ever got anything and if Francis took away her compass it wouldn’t be fair at all. But nobody could do anything. Everyone was afraid of Francis. He was a big and strong boy and Alice was small and frail.

    “Are you giving it to me or not?” he asked in a dangerous voice.

    “No, I won’t,” replied the little girl.

    Francis took hold of the compass in Alice’s hand and tried to get it from her. Alice was holding it very tightly and he could not get it. So he tried to force it out of her hand. Now, in doing that Alice fell on one side and the compass box fell on the other side. Since the box was made of plastic, it broke and all her things fell out!

    Francis began to laugh now.

    “You can keep the box now, I don’t want it,” he said, and with that he went away still laughing.

    Alice stood up and began to collect her things. The other children helped her. Alice cried bitterly. What would she tell her grandmother?

    Just then, their teacher came into the classroom. When she saw all the children crowded round Alice and her crying, she asked, “What is it? Why are you crying, Alice?”

    Alice could hardly speak and so the other children standing there explained to the teacher all that had happened.

    The teacher was shocked to hear everything!

    “Has this been going on for long?” she asked.

    “Ever since he has come to this school,” the children replied. Some said he had taken their pencils, some said he had taken their rulers and one even said that he had taken his new cap that he had worn to school one day.

    The teacher was dumbfounded!

    “Where is Francis now?” she asked.

    Just then, who should come in but Francis as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He looked so innocent.

    “Francis, why did you try to take Alice’s compass box?” she asked him. “Why did you make her break it?”

    “Me?” he asked, innocently. “I haven’t taken her compass box, let alone break it.”

    “The children are all witnesses here,” she said. “You tried to take the compass box by force and you broke it. Isn’t that right, children?”

    “Yes, Teacher,” the children all replied with one voice.

    “Francis, Alice, please come with me to the headmaster’s office,” she said.

    All three of them went to the headmaster’s office. There the teacher told the headmaster the whole story. The headmaster was shocked as well.

    He immediately looked up Francis’ father’s phone number and called him to come to the office immediately.

    The teacher and Alice were told to go back to class, but Francis was told to stay behind until his father arrived.

    His father arrived after a while. He was told the whole story and then the headmaster summoned Alice and the teacher to his office.

    Francis’ father was horrified!

    “How could you do such a mean thing?” he asked, turning to his son. “Haven’t I given you whatever you wanted? Why did you want to take something that did not belong to you when you know that I would have gotten it for you? All you had to do was ask. Now, what I want you to do is to apologize to Alice and then you will buy her a new compass box just like the one that you broke from your own pocket money. As for telling lies that you had done nothing, you won’t have lunch money for a whole week, young man. it’s high time you learnt a lesson!”

    With that he apologized to the headmaster and to Alice and comforted her and then went away, promising that, that very evening he would take Francis to buy a new compass box so that she would get it the next day.

    From that day onwards, Francis never dared to bully anyone again!

A Touch of Gold

 Hello everyone,

    Today I am going to tell you a story of a very greedy king in ancient Greece. This story shows us not to be greedy about anything and to be wise. You should never make hasty decisions. Always think properly before asking for anything or doing anything for that matter.

    Read on find out the fate of King Midas.

A Touch of Gold

    Once upon a time, in ancient Greece there was a king called Midas. King Midas was a very greedy man. He was very rich and he had lots of wealth, but he was never satisfied. He always yearned for more and more of gold. He loved gold and he wished that he had the power to turn anything that he touched to gold.

   

    One day as he slept at night a bright light woke him up. When he woke up he found the god of wealth standing before him (in ancient Greece people believed in gods and goddesses).

    “Make a wish, oh King Midas and I shall grant it tonight!” the god spoke.

   

    The king was delighted. He knew exactly what to wish for.

    “Grant me the wish of the touch of gold, so that whatever I touch turns to gold,” replied the greedy king.

    “Think carefully before you make such a wish, oh King Midas,” said the god of wealth.

    “I have thought about it and it is my wish to have the golden touch!” the greedy king replied, who was so blinded by greed that he just could not see the consequences of his wish.

    “Very well,” said the god. “So be it! You shall have your wish in the morning.”

    And with that he disappeared. Now the king could not wait for the morning to come. He tossed and turned all night. As soon as morning dawned, he woke up and went into the garden.

   He touched his gate and it turned to gold! He touched some flowers and the whole plant turned to gold! He went mad with joy! At last, he had what he had always wished for!

    Then he went inside and he touched the walls and he touched the table and the chairs and they too turned to gold!

    After doing all that he suddenly felt very hungry and told his servants to bring him breakfast. The servants at once obeyed and brought him all kinds of food and some wine. As soon as the king touched the goblet of wine it turned to gold! He was delighted!

    But what’s this? The king could not drink the wine as it too had turned to gold! And when he wanted to eat his breakfast, it turned to gold as well!

    The king was horrified!

    Just then his little princess whom he loved very much came in running to show her father some flowers that she had picked in the garden. As soon as the king touched her to stroke her hair, she turned to gold!

    The king was distressed. What could he do now? Everything that he touched turned to gold. What the king had thought to be a blessing turned out to a curse! He did not know what to do. He couldn’t eat! He couldn’t drink! The daughter that he loved so much had been turned to a golden statue.

    He now understood that gold was of no value compared to the love of your fellow human beings. He wished now that he had never been so greedy and he wished that he had never made that wish. But what could he do now. The deed had been done. The god of wealth had warned him to think carefully before making such a wish but he had been too blinded by greed.

   

    The king began to cry now! He was hungry. He was thirsty. He longed to see his daughter alive and well again. He cried and he cried, but it was no use!

    Soon night fell and he prepared to go to bed. As soon as he got into bed, his bed turned to gold, blankets and all!

    The king began to hate the very sight of gold! The very king who had loved gold so much, now hated the very sight of it!

    Anyway, he got on the hard gold bed and tried to sleep. But it was impossible to sleep on such a hard bed when he was so used to sleeping on his soft velvet one. He tossed and turned and soon it was midnight.

    At midnight, again there was a bright light and the God of Wealth appeared before him.

    “Well, King Midas,” he said, “how is your wish going? Do you like it? Would you like to keep it?”

    King Midas started crying all over again.

    “Please, I beg you, take this wish away! It is not a wish, it has turned out to be a curse! I can’t eat, I can’t drink and my daughter has turned to golden statue!” he said, in a very low sad voice. “I just don’t know what to do. Please, help me! Take this cursed wish away! I don’t want it.”

    “You must understand that gold is not everything,” said the god of wealth. “There is human love and lots more.”

    “I understand that now,” said the king, in a shameful voice. “I hate the very sight of gold now! Please, take this wish away. I beg you.”

    “Very well,” said the god of wealth. “I shall take the wish away. In future think twice before you make such a wish.”

    And with that he disappeared.

    When the king woke up the next morning, everything seemed to be normal. His bed was normal and his house was no longer made of gold.

    When he went out, his daughter came running to him!

    The king was so delighted to see his daughter normal again that he started to cry with joy!

    From that day onwards, he never ever wished for gold again!

The Golden Fish

    It’s a story of a fisherman who was too obedient to his wife. He would listen to her even if she asked for anything ridiculous, he would try to get it for her.

    Read on and find out what ridiculous and absurd thing she asked for.

THE GOLDEN FISH

    Once upon a time, there was a very poor fisherman. He lived in a small hut with his wife. He did not have any children. He used to go out fishing in the morning, everyday. Whatever fish he caught he used to take it to the market to sell. The fish that was left over he brought it home for his wife to cook.

    One day, he went fishing as usual. He took the boat and rowed it far and cast his net. When he brought the net up he saw that he had caught a beautiful golden fish. It glittered and shone in the morning sun. What the fisherman did not know was that it was a magic fish. When the fisherman put out his hand to take it, it spoke, “Please, fisherman, spare me and I shall give you whatever you want. You just name it.”

    The fisherman was taken aback at first and then he asked in surprise, “You can talk?”

    The fish replied, “Yes, and I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to make your wishes come true.”

  

 “You are just telling me that so I would let you go,” the fisherman

said, suspiciously. “How can I be sure that you will give me whatever I want?”

      “Look, I cannot lie,” said the fish, “because if I lied all my magical powers will be taken away from me. Now, tell me what you want. I cannot stay out of water for a long time. So please hurry up.”

    The fisherman thought for a while but he couldn’t think of anything and so he said, “Is it ok if I let you know tomorrow? I want to ask my wife and then I shall tell you tomorrow morning.”

    “What kind of a man are you? You want to ask your wife about something like that?” asked the fish. “Anyway, since you have saved my life I shall wait for you here tomorrow and then you can come and tell me.”

    With that the golden fish jumped back into the sea. The fisherman took the rest of the fish and went to the market to sell and after that went home. He told his wife everything that had happened and his wife listened with wide eyes.

    “It was easy. You should have asked the fish to make us very rich and give us a nice big house with many servants,” she said. “You go tomorrow and ask for that.”

    “Alright, I shall go and ask the golden fish to give us a lot of wealth and a big house,” said the fisherman.

    And so the next day, he went to the place where he had caught the golden fish and shouted, “Hello, are you there, Golden Fish?”

    “Yes, I’m here,” came the reply and the fish appeared. “Have you made up your mind what you want?”

    “Yes, I have,” replied the fisherman. “Can you please make us rich and give us a big house with many servants?”

    “Yes, I can do that,” replied the fish. “Go home and you’ll find your wife sitting in a big bungalow with maids and servants attending to her. If you want anything else just come here and let me know.”

    With that the golden fish disappeared in the sea.

    The fisherman hurried home to see if that was true. When he reached the place where his hut used to be there stood a very big and magnificent bungalow. His eyes nearly popped out of his head. Anyway, he went inside and saw that what the fish had said was true. His wife was sitting on a sofa and was being served by many maids and servants.

    They lived like this for quite a while but now, the wife of the fisherman being a very greedy woman began to be restless. She thought that if the golden fish could give them anything they wanted why not ask to have a kingdom of their own so that she would become queen and her husband would be king. And so, as soon as her husband came home she asked him to go the golden fish one more time and have it grant her wish. The fisherman now turned rich man was reluctant and said, “How can I go and ask the golden fish for that when it has given us so much?”

   “Please, go and ask the fish to give us a kingdom,” begged the wife. “If I won’t get a kingdom I shall never be happy again.”

    And so, the fisherman went to the sea once more unwillingly. When he reached the spot where he had met the golden fish he called out, “Are there, Golden Fish?”

    “Yes, I’m here,” replied the golden fish. “What do you want?”

    “Golden Fish, can you give us a kingdom to rule so that I could become king and my wife could become the queen?”

    “Alright, go home and your wife will be sitting in a palace,” so saying the golden fish disappeared into the sea again.

    Sure enough when the fisherman reached the place where his bungalow used to be there stood a magnificent palace with golden turrets and carved wooden doors and windows. He had never seen anything like this in all his life.

    The fisherman who had become king ruled fairly and he was very happy and so was his wife. They lived like this for some years until one day the queen began to feel restless again.

    One day, she got a very dreadful idea! What if she asked the golden fish to grant her a wish that she could control the sun, the moon and the stars? She started to nag her husband to go and ask the golden fish to grant her wish to be in control of the sun, the moon and the stars in the sky, so that she could change day into night and night into day whenever she wished. The king would not hear of it.

    “How can you be so ungrateful?” said the king. “How can I go and ask the Golden Fish for such a silly request?”

  

    But, the queen wouldn’t hear of it. She kept on nagging day and

night. She cried and she threw tantrums until the king got so fed up that he decided to go and get over with it.

    And so, after the day of her most dreadful tantrum, the king, most unwillingly and with a heavy heart took his boat and went to the spot where the golden fish was to be found and called out, “Are you there, Golden Fish?”

    “I’m here,” came the reply. “What do you want now?”

    “Please, Golden Fish,” said the king, “my wife says that she wants you to grant her one more wish.”

    “What is her wish?” asked the golden fish.

    “Well, she says that….” The king hesitated.

    “Well, what does she want?” asked the golden fish, impatiently.

    “Well, she wants you to grant her so that the days and the nights would be under her control. The sun and the moon and the stars would do her bidding,” blurted out the king.

    On hearing this, the golden fish got so angry that it flew high in the air and came down in the sea again with a big splash.

    “Your wife is a very greedy and ungrateful woman and not I, nor anybody can grant her such a wish,” said the golden fish. “I gave you whatever you asked for but still your wife is not satisfied. I don’t think that anything can satisfy her. Go home and you’ll find your wife the way she was, in your old hut and you will be a fisherman for the rest of your life.”

    So saying the golden fish disappeared never to be seen again.

    The fisherman tried to call back the golden fish but it had disappeared forever never to be seen again.

    As for the fisherman, when he went home, what did you think he find? His wife was in the same old hut. There was no palace and no servants to serve them. His wife was sitting there crying.

    “I hope you are satisfied,” said the fisherman, angrily. “Why are you crying now? It was your greed that has led us to our downfall.”

    His wife cried and said, “Please, go to the golden fish and tell it that I’m sorry for asking such a wish and give us our wealth back.”

    But the fisherman had had enough of the golden fish and he just took his old net and went out of his hut without saying anything and went away fishing the way he used to do.