Carbondale

July 30, '03

Carbondale is a very comfortable and graceful of a residential placement.  There are many places of environmental protection, so we can see many wildlife animals carefree and happy life.  Within thirty minutes driving distance, there are also many lakes that people can enjoy fishing.  People can enjoy life here because it has very nice air and quiet night.  So Living in Carbondale you can feel the wonderful nature.  In fact, just south to carbondale, there is a large state park which is very pleasing to the eyes, and you can see beautiful maple leaves and autumnal scenery in the fall.  Sometimes, if oyu go to the shop, you can feel that the workers smile and say "have a nice day or night".  Overall these are very different from my hometown.  I like to live and enjoy studying here because it doens't have much stress of life.

My friend

When I arrived here, I met a very nice person, A.B. at Marion airport.  I had asked the CESL office for someone to pick me up there, and she came.  I already had told the dormitory when I would arrive, so I thought someone would be waiting for me.  Nevertheless, nobody was waiting.  On the contrary, I could not get my room key and could not eat dinner.  Therefore, I was very confused and I did not know what to do, but A.B. helped me very well.  Due to her, I was able to relax very much.  She is American, but she is very interested in international students.  Therefore, she has many friends, not only Americans but also people from different countries.  She is a very good student, so she studies hard very much.  Thanks to studying, now she can speak Japanese a little bit.  However, it is not enough to talk with me in Japanese, so we always talk in English.  I often teach her Japanese and Japanese culture, and she teaches me American culture and English too.  Even though we have different cultures and nationalities, we are good friends.  I always think I am a very lucky person because I was able to meet her.

Two days ago I put out a cracker for Chip again, like every morning.  I thought that if he always had the food in his door, he would never go away.  Two days later the food is still there.  The birds have disappeared and I haven't seen Chip again.  Where is he?  I know the answer; I'm sad.  The cat would have eaten the birds before, if they had been there, if the fountain had been working, if I hadn't put out the cracker for my friend.

--Victoria Iglesias

Chinese Valentine's Day

Once there was a woman who was not from this earth.  She was from the sky.  She visited the earth, and met a man.  Then they fell in love and got married.  But the leader of the sky became very angry when he heard this, because she had not asked him if she could marry.  He sent some soldiers down to earth to get her and bring her back to the sky.

   The man missed her very much, and he died, and became a star in the sky.  The woman also became a star, but the leader was still mad at her, and did not let her be near the man.  Fortunately, the birds sympathized wtih her, so every year, on July 7th, you can see two very bright stars, connected by a bridge of small stars; they are the birds.  So, it is possible for them to meet once a year.

   -Fa Yu

The Bird

Long long ago, an aunt and uncle were living in a small house.  The uncle went to the mountain, because the uncle needed more small trees.  In the mountain, a bird was caught.  The uncle looked at the bird and the uncle thought he would help the bird.  This uncle was a very good man.  The bird was glad, so this bird thought of a gift for the uncle.  So the bird gave clothes to the uncle.  The uncle was very happy, because they were poor, so they couldn't buy many clothes.  It was winter.  It was very cold.  The uncle said, "Thank you very much,"  and he wanted the bird to live with him.  But the bird said, "No, because I am a bird, I can't live with you."  The uncle was sad.  Three days later, the uncle went to the mountain again, but the uncle couldn't find the bird, so he gave up looking for him.
 
   -Satoshi

A long time ago, there was a deer that was the most clever animal in the jungle.  This deer was called San Kancil.  One day, San Kancil wanted to get across a river to go to the other bank.  Unfortunately, San Kancil didn't know how to swim, and the river was full of crocodiles.  Therefore, San Kancil had to think about it.  Suddenly, San Kancil got it.  San Kancil approached the river bank and shouted at the crocodiles, "Crocodiles, you all are pretty, good crocodiles.  I would like to know how many are in this river.  Could you all line up from this bank to the other bank?  I want to count you."  AFter that, the stupid crocodiles did what they were told by San Kancil.  Then the crocodiles told San Kancil, "We have done it, count us now."  Therefore, San Kancil jumped on the first crocodile, then shouted "number one!", and jumped on the second crocodile, shouting "number two!" and so on.  San Kancil did it continuously until he reached the other bank.  AFter San Kancil reached the other bank of the river, he suddenly laughed and said, "Oh! Stupid crocodiles, I don't care how many of you there are, my purpose was just to cross the river!"  After San Kancil said these words, he disappeared and the crocodiles were very angry that they were fooled by San Kancil.

   -Eng Keng Khor

There was a nice, kind and honest man a long time ago.  He was not rich, but had never complained about it.
   One day, he found a crane which had been hurt in the leg.  He tended to it until it recovered.  After that, he let it go.
   A few days later, a lady came over to his house.  She told him that she was a traveler and was looking for a place where she could stay the night.  He decided to let her stay at his house.  Moreover, he fell in love with her right away.
   She stayed there a few weeks.  EVery night she wove on a loom by herself in a room, and advised him not to open the door and not to watch.  Every morning, she made him sell what she had made, to earn money, and he was getting rich.  However, he wanted to know about it, out of curiosity, and then he opened the door one night finally.  To his surprise, she was the crane he had saved, and was weaving on the loom, using her own feathers.  The crane told him that it had come to repay his kindness, and it left.

   -Kazumi Nakada

The Ass, the Fox, and the Lion

A fox and ass are friends.  They swear to protect each other when they are in danger.  One, they go hunting.  And then a lion crosses their path.  The fox sees the lion first.  The fox points him out to the ass.  And then the fox says, "We must come to terms with the lion and get him to be friendly with us."  And then the fox walks boldly up to the lion.  The fox says, "Mr. Lion, you are so graceful.  Can I be your friend?  I can help you trap the ass."  The lion says, "All right Mr. Fox.  Let us be friends and I will not harm you."  And then the fox induces the ass to follow him to a deep pit, and then the fox makes the ass fall into the pit.  The poor ass cries out loudly, "Why do you do this to me?  We are friends, aren't we?"  And then the fox laughs and says, "Certainly we are friends, and I am friends with Mr. Lion too."  As soon as the lion sees the ass is trapped he springs upon the fox.  The fox is very frightened.  He asks the lion, Mr. Lion, you agreed to be friends with me, didn't you?  Why do you harm me then?"  The lion answers, "You are friends with the ass, too, aren't you?  You will be my good meal."  Later, the lion eats the ass at his leisure.
   This story teaches us, "Those who betray their friends must not expect others to keep faith with them."

   -Alinsra

The Tiger and the Cow

Oct.-Dec. 1996

This story is about a fierce tiger who all the animals feared in the jungle because the tiger would kill any animal he could find whether or not he needed food.  So, one day the other animals offered to sacrifice one animal a week to the tiger if the tiger would leave the others alone.  So, the tiger agreed to the plan, because he was getting old and was tired of chasing the animals.

   The first animal to be sacrificed was a young cow.  But, he was very young and did not want to die before he had a chance to enjoy the pleasure of life.  However, he knew it was his duty to sacrifice himself for the safety of the other animals.

   And so slowly but determinedly the calf set out for the tiger's abode.  The young cow became very sad and stopped at the edge of a ravine and desperately cried out, by saying, "What shall I do?"  Instead of an answer the young cow heard his own voice echoing back to him the words, "What shall I do?"  So, having the echo suddenly gave the calf an idea of how he could trick the tiger and save his life.

   When the calf arrived the tiger was very angry at him for being late.  But the calf apologized to the tiger and then proceeded to trick him by telling the tiger why he was late.  The calf said he left home with his mother.  But, on their way to meet the tiger another tiger attacked and killed his mother.  He was the only one who was able to hide and later escaped and came there.  The calf also said that the other tiger also had eaten the first tiger's food.  When the tiger heard that, he shouted out, saying, "I must fight this beast.  Show me where he is living!"

   Then, the calf told the tiger that his rival lived on the opposite side of the ravine.  When the tiger learned that news he shouted, "Come here!"  to the tiger on the other side (but of course, the only answer he got was his own echo repeating the words, "Come here!"  The tiger thought that his rival was shouting back at him which angered him even more.  So, he was determined to go across the ravine and fight his newly found enemy.  He then realized that the ravine was very wide and he asked the calf how the other tiger had gotten across it.

   He just jumped across, replied the calf.  It seemed very easy.  The tiger was determine that he could do what any other beast of his kind could do, so he leaped across the ravine, but instead of reaching the other side, he plunged to his death on the rocks below.

   The little cow then went back home and told the other animals what had happened.  The animals all praised the cleverness of the little cow and rejoiced because they could now lived out their days in peace and happiness.

   -Rozie

A Mujina

Oct.-Dec. 1996

Long, long ago there was a lonely slope in the city of Edo.  People stayed away from the slope at night, because a Mujina lived there.

   This is a story about the Mujina.  One night at a late hour, and old man was hurring up the slope.  Then he saw a woman under a tree.  She was sitting alone, and crying, "Why is she crying here at this late hour?"  he wondered.  "She looks like a young girl."  He went up to her and said, "What's the matter?  Why are you crying?"  But the girl did not answer.  She was covering her face with one of her long sleeves.  "This is not a place for a young girl at night!  Don't cry, please!"  Slowly she stood up, but she was still covering her face.  He put his left hand on her shoulder, and said again, "Please, don't cry!"  Then the young girl turned around, and dropped her sleeve.

    Look!  He was surprised.  She had no eyes, or nose, or mouth.  He cried out and ran away.  He ran and ran up the slope.  And at last he saw a light far away.  The light was from a soba, or Japanese noodle, stand.  The old man ran up to the stand, and the feet of the soba man.  "Did anyone hurt you?"  "Oh, no!"  said the old man.  "I saw a woman; her face had no eyes, no nose and no mouth."  "Well, was her face like this?" asked the soba man.  He stroked his face.  Then his face became like an egg.  And, at the same time, the light went out.

   -Keiko Shimizu

The Lion and the Mouse

Oct.-Dec. 1996
Once upon a time, a lion was living in the jungle.  He thought that he was the king and the other animals were his subjects, and they had to respect him.
   Some time later a mouse came to the jungle searching for new friends.  The mouse went to the lion's house and the lion was hostile with the mouse, although he wasn't too foolish like the other animals.
   One day, a hunter came to the jungle and captured the lion with a net.  The lion couldn't release himself and he ordered the other animals to save him, but the animals didn't listen to his words.  As the mouse was nice he helped to release the lion, biting the net with his little teeth.
   The lion apologized to him, and the other animals, for his behavior, and gave a party to give welcome to the mouse.
   The moral of this story is that people shouldn't despise somebody, because sometime that person can help you.

    -Gloria Hernandez

The Cat and the Mouse

Oct.-Dec. 1996
Today, I would like to tell you a folk story from my country, a story about the cat and the mice.
   A long time ago, the cat and the mouse were friends.  One day, all of the animals went to meet an angel to report about the animals' arrival.  After that, the angel decided to make up a calendar according to all the animals' age and size, in order of who arrived first.  The angel would make up twelve different selections of animals' names.  At that time one of the animals was the cat.  The cat was very lazy and always slept.  One day, the cat asked the mouse to help him wake up, but the mouse was a crafty and clever animals.  The mouse didn't wake up the cat.  The mouse let the cat sleep for a long time, then, when the cat had woken up, the meeting was over, and the cat was very angry at the mouse.
   Henceforth, the cat and mouse were enemies.  The cat worked hard in the evening and never slept.  The cat tried to find the mouse to eat.  Of the twelve different parts of the Chinese calendar, the cat does not appear in any.  The mouse is the first ranked animal.
   The Chinese calendar has mouse, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, cock and pig.
 
   -Fong

The Rice Cake that Rolled Away

Long ago, a kind old man and woman lived in a small village in Japan.  They were helping each other to make rice cakes.  Suddenly, one of the rice cakes rolled away and fell to the ground.
   When the old man saw this happen, he shouted and ran as fast as he could.  The rice cake disappeared into a little hole, so he also went inside.  The inside of the hole made him surprised because it was pretty large and roomy.
   When he blinked his eye and brushed the dirt from his clothes, and looked up, he was in front of the stone statue of Ojizo-sama.  He apologized to the Ojizo-sama, saying that he didn't know he had come to the Ojizo-sama, and he explained that the reason he came here was that he had been trying to catch the rice cake which had rolled away from his front porch.  He offered a rice cake to the Ojizo-sama.
   When the Ojizo-sama saw him and learned of his good nature, the Ojizo-sama ordered him to climb up on his lap.  The old man was surprised about the Ojizo-sama's words, so at first he hesitated to do that.
   But as the Ojizo-sama gave him orders continuously, and finally the old man got up on the Ojizo-sama's head.  The Ojizo-sama told him to wave the fan which Ojizo-sama gave him, and to crow like a cock when some gambler came to drink and gamble in front of the Ojizo-sama.  The old man did as the Ojizo-sama told him.
   Then, the gamblers ran away from the Ojizo-sama because they thought it was already morning.  They left behind all their gold.  The Ojizo-sama gave all the gold to the old man.
   When a greedy old man and woman next door heard about this story, the greedy old man did the same things with his wife.
   The greedy old man pushed a rice cake to the Ojizo-sama's shrine.  And he crowed like a cock when some gamblers came in front of the Ojizo-sama.
   Unfortunately, he was noticed by the gamblers, who dragged the greedy man and beat him with their fists.  He managed to go back to his house somehow, but he learned that he couldn't imitate his good neighbor.
   This story made me very interested because it is true that the greedy person will fail because of his bad character.  The Ojizo-sama knowing very well about both men's characters made me interested too.

   -Sakiko Fukuda

A Magic Pot

A long long time ago, a greedy man lived in a small village.  He had a little brother.  The little brother was kind and thoughtful.  However he was very poor.  One day, he worked in his small farm.  Although the weather was very hot he worked hard.  At that time, he came across a large pot.  It was very old but one could still use it.  The little brother brought the large pot from his farm.  He put some food and fruit in the pot.  The next day, he was amazed when he saw the pot.  There was a lot of food and fruit in the pot.  He put a coin in the large pot again.  As a result of that, he got a lot of coins.  The large pot was a magic pot.  The greedy brother heard the news.  He stole the magic pot from his brother in the middle of the night.  He was happy.  He got a lot of money and food also.  One day, the greedy brother's father was anxious about the large pot.  His father climbed on a pot to see the inside of hte pot.  At that time, his son came into the room.  The greedy  brother's father was surprised and fell into the pot.  He took out his father from the inside of the pot.  A few minutes later, he heard some sound from the inside of the pot.  "My son!  Please help me!"  He looked inside the pot.  There stayed his father in the pot.  He took out the other one of his father again.  And again, again… He didn't know what he should do.  His little brother came to his house after he heard that news.  The greedy brother regretted what he had done out of greed.  They discussed the accident.  Finally, they decided that they would destroy the pot.  They did.  A few seconds later, everything disappeared.

   -Michael Jeong

Bogey's Magic Bat

In this story appears three people, two brothers and one bogey.  Each brother had a lump on his neck.
   The older brother was very rich, but he never helped his poor younger brother.  The younger brother's job was getting firewood.  He was very honest and kind.  One day, after working, he was very tired, so he found some melon house (these were small houses in melon patches, used by workers to rest).  He had some rest and he was singing in there.  At that time some bogey heard his singing, and it was very nice, so the bogey approached him and the bogey said, "How can you sing like that?"  He was very afraid and was trembling, and he said, "This lump makes me sing well."  So the bogey heated the lump with his magic bat, and gave him a lot of gold with his magic bat.  AFter that happened he became rich, so he got a big house and a beautiful wife.  One day his older brother visited his home, and the older brother said, "How could you become more rich than me?"  So the younger brother discussed what happened.  The older brother went to the same melon house and he sang the same song, but it was too bad, and then the bogey came to him, so the older brother said, "This lump makes me sing like that," before the bogey even asked him.  But the bogey knew that the younger brother had lied to him, so he was very angry about that.  So the bogey gave one more lump to the older brother, so he now had two lumps on his neck.
   This story tells us never to desire more than we own.
   -Jun Yang

Oct.-Dec. 1996

A long time ago, a farmer was working every morning.  His name was Songchai.  Every day Songchai would go to work on his land.  One day, Songchai had to cross the woods.  As soon as he started out, Songchai saw a king cobra.  He very much pitied that king cobra.  "It's injured," Songchai said.  "Oh, I will help it."  When Songchai helped the king cobra, the cobra didn't move.  But after he helped it, the cobra turned back to attack his leg.  The motto is, you have to know about the disposition of someone before you go to work with them.

   -Piyaphon

Oct.-Dec. 1996

One day, a crow flew in the sky, in a place with a hot climate.  The crow had symptoms  of hunger and thirst for water, but couldn't find a source of water.  The crow flew for a long time looking for a source of water, but couldn't find one.  Finally the crow found a jug with a little bit of water in it.  The crow tried to drink the water, but the top of the jug was too small to the crow's head wouldn't fit down into the jug.  The crow thought a long time, and finally thought to put rocks into the jug in order to make the water go to the top.  The crow kept putting rocks into the jug for a long time, until finally the water went up to the top of the bottle and it could drink the water.  The tale teaches us that putting effort into something will bring accomplishment.

   -Nut Tiranasar

Oct.-Dec. 1996

A long time ago, on the south China coast, there was a big clam on a beach and a wide-ranged falmingo in the sky.  The shell always opened his shell, waiting for the bird to drop on the beach to be his food, and the flamingo always cruised and looked over the beach for food also.  One day, when the clam opened his shell again, the hungry cruising flamingo saw the shell opening; he thought that it was an excellent chance for his delicious food.  The big crab had meat, so the flamingo hurried to fly down to the clam.  When the flamingo came toward the clam, the clam was thinking, "What a big bird it is!  It must be enough for hungry me."  At that moment of their contacting each other, the shell of the clam closed quickly, and the beak of the flamingo got hold of the meat of the crab.  At that moment they fought each other and tried to swallow each other tightly.  No one gave way to its rival.  After several hours, they were still bound together.  At this time, an older fisherman who had not caught any fish today passed by the clam and the flamingo and discovered them.  The old fisherman was excited by the scene.  He said, "Oh! My family will have a good harvest today, a big clam and a big bird,"  and he caught them and brought them home.
   The story tells us, when people fight or hurt each other, the advantages always belong to the third person.

   -Ming-Szu Yu

The Monkey and the Lion

There was a lion in the forest.  One day this lion was hungry, and he met a young monkey on his way, so he thought he would eat this monkey instead of being hungry all the time.  so he said to the monkey, "I am hungry, and I haven't found anything to eat this day.  I know you are not enough for me, but I am going to eat you, young monkey."  The monkey was in a big problem, but found a way to run away from that lion.  He changed the subject.  He said, "Do you want to play together, what my father and your father played?  Because they were friends."  The lion said, "Oh, I didn't know that; that's interesting.  What is that?"  The monkey was lying.  Both the monkey and the lion went to a big area that had machines, because the monkey said, "I have to find machines to play."  And the monkey said, "I am going first, what you have to do is just hang me when I throw myself down, and be careful of me."  The lion said, "OK, be safe, friend."  Then the monkey went to the top, and said to the lion, "Are you ready?"  The lion said, "Sure, go ahead!"  The monkey knew the lion wouldn't let him fall down because the lion wanted to try it.  The monkey threw himself, and the lion hanged him, and then the lion went to the top, and he said again to the monkey, "Are you ready, friend?"  The monkey said "Sure, my goodness!"  But after the lion threw himself the monkey said, "Oh, wait, I am not ready!"  Then he ran away.  Then the lion hurt himself.  The monkey found a place and at the same time a newspaper, and he just made himself read it.  The lion came fast and asked the monkey, "Did you see any monkey come by this way?"  The monkey said, "Who?"  Who made a fool of you?"  And the lion said, "Oh, that was so fast, it's already in the newspaper."

   -Hamza

The Grasshopper and the Ants

One summer day, a grasshopper said, "Why are you working so hard?"  An ant said, "We are preparing food for winter."
   "Wake up, ant!  Today is beautiful: enjoy yourself!" the grasshopper replied.  The ant said, "Don't worry about it grasshopper!  I'll do my best, by myself."
   Time passed.  One winter day, a grasshopper knocked on the door of an ant's house.  And then the grasshopper said, "Please!  Give me a little food."
   "Oh, grasshopper.  What are you doing here?"  the ant said.  The grasshopper said, "Sir, I'm cold and hungry.  Please!  Give me food and accommodation."
   The ant said, "You were enjoying yourself last summer, weren't you?"  The grasshopper said, "I know, I'm regretting it now."  The ant said, "OK, come in."

   -Segon

The Bulls and the Lion

There were three bulls who lived with al ion, a white bull, a red bull, and a black bull.  They were enjoying themselves.  One day, the lion said, "Would you like to go on a picnic?"  The three bulls said, "That's a good idea."  However, the lion was planning to eat one bull, and knew that he couldn't eat all three together.  The lion said to the red and black bulls, "Let me eat the white bull, because his color is different."  The two bulls said, "Yes, that is a good idea."  After a few days, the lion said to the red bull, "If you let me eat the black bull, the other animals will think you are a lion, because your color is similar to my color."  The red bull said, "Why not?"  After a while, thel ion said to the red bull, "Now I have to eat you, because I'm hungry."  Then the red bull knew that the lion would not be able to eat him, if he hadn't allowed him to eat his friends the white bull and the black bull.  Finally he requested that the lion allow him to say something before he ate him.  He said, "The lion ate me, when he ate the white bull."

   -Mohammed

The Gold Ax and the Silver Axe

A long time ago, there was a young man who had been taking care of his sick mother for a long time.  There were just two people in the family, so he had to work hard.  He was a wood chopper.  He was a really good man.  One day, he chopped a tree near a pond in the deep forest.
   While working he lost his ax.  Even worse, it fell into the pond!!  He had only one ax, and he didn't have money to buy a new one.  He couldn't lived without it.  He cried in front of the pond for a long time.  Suddenly, the holy ghost of the forest appeared on the pond.  "Why are you crying so sadly," he said very kindly.  The young man was surprised!  But he replied, "Because I lost my ax, and it fell into the pond."  The holy ghost understood this situation.  "Wait for me," he said, and disappeared into the pond.  After a while, the holy ghost appeared with a gold ax.  Is this gold ax yours?" he asked the young man.  The young man replied, "No, the gold ax is not mine."  The holy ghost appeared again with a silver ax.  "Is this silver ax yours?" he asked.  The young man replied, "No, the silver ax is not mine."  This tim,e the holy ghost appeared with an iron ax.  "Is this iron ax yours?" he asked.  Finally, the young man replied, "Yes, the iron ax is mine!  Thank you so much!"  The holy ghost was so happy with the young man's honesty.  I'll give you all of these axes," he said.
  Later, the young man sold the gold and silver axes.  He was rich!  Moreover, he married a beautiful wife.  And he lived happily with his mother and his wife forever.
 
   -Han

Kachi Kachi Mountain

Once upon a time, an old man and an old woman lived in a house that faced the mountains.  They grew some vegetables in the garden, but it was often ruined by a tanuki, a raccoon dog who lived on the mountain.  Since they were annoyed by the tanuki, they wanted to get rid of him.  One day, the old man set a trap, and he succeeded in catching the tanuki,  He returned home with the tanuki, and after a while, he went to the garden again.  Only the old woman stayed in the house with the tanuki.  He knew that the old woman was kind.  So he schemed to escape, and he deceived her.  He said, "I would never play a trick.  Please set me free."  She believed him and set him free, but the tanuki killed her.  When the old man returned, he found her, and he felt very sad.  While he was feeling sad, a rabbit came, and said, "Please don't be sad; I won't fail to revenge her."
   Another day, the rabbit asked the tanuki to carry firewood on his back.  When he carried that, the rabbit struck a fire with a flint, then the flint made the noise "kachi kachi."  The tanuki asked the rabbit, "What is that noise?"  "This is called Kachi Kachi Mountain.  Don't worry."  At last, the rabbit succeeded in setting a fire, and the tanuki was burned.
   Another day, the rabbit pretended to be another rabbit, and said to the tanuki, "Oh, you got terribly burned.  I have some good ointment, and I'll give it to you."  The tanuki put it on his back, and he felt sore.  In fact, it was not ointment but mustard.  The tanuki was very angry.
   On a different day, the rabbit pretended to be another rabbit again.  He made a wooden boat, and invited the tanuki to catch fish.  The rabbit advised the tanuki, "If you make a mud boat, you can catch many fish."  The tanuki believed that, and made a mud boat.  At the same time, they started catching fish; of course, the mud boat sank with the tanuki.
   The tanuki regretted what he did, and promised that he would never play another trick.
   Thanks to the rabbit, the old man could live in peace for a long time.
1996
   -Akiko Iwano

Sakyamuni

Many years ago, there was an emperor.  He was a very ferocious emperor.  Suddenly there was a ferocious fiend, who he would put on this emperor's body.  But Buddha used his blood for this emperor's wife.  This emperor's wife would bear a woman.  This woman would be Avalokitesvara (Budhisattava).
  There were three daughters in this family.  The older daughter was a very ferocious daughter.  But the younger daughter was a very docile daughter.  But their father hated Buddhism very much, and the young daughter liked it very much.  In this country, there was a Taoist priest who was very ferocious.  This Taoist priest usually tried to kill the young daughter, because the young daughter always tried to thwart the Taoist priest.  This young daughter would try to find their supernatural power in seven difficult places.  By tradition, these places were very vivid.  But the Taoist priest prevented the young daughter from finding her supernatural power.  But the young daughter always used cleverness to answer any question.
1996

   -Fu-Lin

Untitled

A long long time ago, an old man went to the mountain to mow the grass, and an old woman washed clothes in the river.  By and by, a big peach was carried away from the other side of the river.  She picked it up and opened it.  There was a little boy in the big peach.  The boy was named Momotarou.  When he grew up, he heard that ogres, who had bad character, were threatening the village, so he went to the island of the ogres to exterminate them.  When he went there, the old woman gave millet dumplings to him.  While he was eating them, he met various animals who became his company; a monkey, a pheasant, and a dog.  They each asked him for a millet dumpling, and he gave each of them one in exchange for becoming his company.  He and they went to the island of ogres.  They finally won the battle after a tough fight.
1996
   -Mari Shibata, Japan

Ta-In and Ta-Na

A long time ago, in a village, there were two old men.  Their names were Ta-In and Ta-Na; they were intimate friends.  They had a good relationship and took care of their friends.
   Every day, they would go fishing at the river.  They were good fishermen.  They had a lot of fish to carry back home every day; when they had fish, they would share them together.  If another fisherman  didn't have fish, his friend would give him fish.  Fish was their food.
   One day, they went fishing, same as every day; they fished from morning to night, but they didn't have any fish.  They were very hungry, and they knew that if they didn't have any fish, they wouldn't have any food either.  Immediately, a fish bit Ta-In's hook.  They were very happy.  But it was a very big fish; Ta-In couldn't draw it up onto the shore, so he called Ta-Na to help him.  Ta-Na helped Ta-In to draw it up on the shore.  It was a very big fish; they were very happy and appreciated that.  They knew they would have food for tonight, and they wanted to go back home because they were very hungry.  But they had one problem: "Who is the owner of this fish?" -- because there was only one fish which was caught by both Ta-In and Ta-Na.  So they started to contradict each other; Ta-In told Ta-Na: "The fish bit my hook, so I am the owner, I will carry it to my house."  But Ta-Na opposed him; he told Ta-In: "If I didn't help you, this fish wouldn't be on shore right now, because you couldn't draw it by yourself.  So I'm the owner.'  They quarreled very loudly for a long time.
   And then, there was one guy who walked past that way.  His name was Ta-You; he heard about their problem, he walked to them and asked them about their problem, and they talked about their problem to him.  Ta-You thought about the problem, Then he smiled and told them, "I will help you to clear up this problem."  Ta-In and Ta-Na appreciated it because they wanted to go back home and eat dinner.
   Ta-You walked to them and said, "Ta-In, this fish bit your hook, so you should receive the fish's head, and Ta-Na, you helped Ta-In draw it on the shore, so you should receive the fish's tail."  Ta-In and Ta-Na appreciated it very much because they would have a part of the fish for their dinner, and they could go back home now.  But they had another problem.  Ta-In asked Ta-You, "How about the fish's body?"  Ta-You smiled and told them, "I'm the committee, so I should receive the fish's body."  Then Ta-You carried the fish's body to his house.
   Ta-In and Ta-Na were very sad.  They knew that if they united, they would have all of the fish and they could eat it together.  They knew that they had only the fish's head and the fish's tail because they didn't unite; if they weren't selfish, they would have had the whole fish.
1996
   -Met Junhavat
 

Kaguyahime (Kaguya-princess)

A long long time ago, there were an old man and an old woman.  One day the old man went to a clump of bamboo.  Then he heard a baby crying.  He looked toward the baby.  The baby was in the bamboo.  He cut the bamboo immediately, then he found a cute girl.  He said, "What a cute girl!"  So, he decided to take the baby to his house.
   He explained about this happening to his wife.  They didn't have any children, so they decided to bring up this baby, and they named the baby "Kaguyahime."
   About three years later, the baby became a beautiful woman.  She was the pride of the old man and the old woman.  Then, some men heard about this beautiful woman, and they wanted to see her.
   One day, five men could meet Kaguyahime.  All of the guys said, "What a beautiful woman, and they wanted to see her.
   One day, five men could meet Kaguyahime.  All of the guys said, "What a beautiful woman she is!" and all of the guys wanted to marry her.  But Kaguyahime didn't want to marry any man, so she gave a difficult question to them.  If anyone could answer the question, that man could marry her.  All of the guys worked hard but they couldn't answer thee question.  Kaguyahime already knew that would happen.
   Kaguyahime had to say goodbye to her parents, because the time was drawing near that she had to go back to the moon.  Her parents were sad to hear that.
   At last Kaguyahime left these words:  "I'll never forget your kindness."  And she parted from her parents.

1996
-Makiko Kato

The Sparrow Whose Tongue was Cut

A long time ago, an old man and woman lived together.  One day, the old woman made paste and left it in a porch-like wooden floor outside a Japanese tongue.  The sparrow was crying.  Then a kind old man treated her.  She was grateful for his kindness.  She took the old man to her palace.  The location of her palace was a bamboo thicket.  The old man ate a gorgeous dinner, got drunk and watched the dancing of the sparrows.  He had a lot of fun.  When it was time to return to his house, the sparrow showed him two gifts.  One was big, the other was small.  The old man chose the small gift because he couldn't do heavy work.  The old man returned to his house with the small gift and he told the old woman everything.  The small gift was a very good thing, money and clothes.  As the old woman was greedy, she was angry at his behavior.  She said, "Why didn't you choose the big gift?"  She went to the palace of sparrows.  And she did like the old man did.  The sparrow showed her two gifts.  She chose the big gift right away.  She returned to her house.  She opened the big gift.  The contents were garbage.
1996
-Chieko

untitled

This story happened a long time ago.  A father had three sons.  They lived in a small village.  There was a beautiful garden on their own land.  Several times someone took apples from their orchard.  And the father invited his sons and spoke to them: "We must catch the one who robbed our orchard.  The older son will go to the orchard on the first night."  The older son went to the orchard, but he slept all night.  The father was bitter.  The next night the middle son went to the orchard.  But he slept too.  And the younger son went to sleep and at midnight, he saw that a beautiful horse invaded their orchard.  Ivan caught this horse.  But the horse said, "Ivan, don't take me, please. I will help you, whenever you need, you can yell for me."  "Well, OK," answered Ivan, "you can go back to your place.  But you must never eat our apples."  "Fine," answered the horse.  The following morning Ivan went back to his house, and told his father, "Father, I didn't see anybody, but nobody will rob our apples anymore."  And the older brothers told their father an untruth about the younger brother.  They said, "Father, Ivan must be the one who robbed our apples, what do you think of that"?  Father agreed with them, and kicked Ivan out of his native house.
   It's a very long tale.  Ivan had a lot of problems, but the fairy horse helped him.  In the end, Ivan became a king and married a beautiful, nice woman.

   -Galina Demidenko

Kong Rong Modestly Declines a Pear

Long long ago, Qin Dynasty had a boy; his name was Kong Rong.  He had two elder brothers and a younger sister.  They were friendly to each other.  Their father and mother loved them, but they loved Kong Rong more.
   One day, father wanted to know how gentle Kong Rong was.  Then he decided to give Kong Rong a test.  He told mother to go to the fruit shop and buy some pears.  Then he picked up three bigger pears and a smaller one.  He told Kong Rong to distribute these pears.  Kong Rong thought a short time and gave the bigger pears to his brothers and sister.  His father asked him, "Why did you give the bigger pears to your brothers and sister?"  Kong Rong said, "My brothers are older than me, so they could eat bigger pears.  My sister is younger than me; I must care for her."  When father heard this, he smiled.
   This story teaches us: we ought to modestly decline to everybody.
 
   -Simon, P.R.

Return for Kindness of the Crane

1996

Once upon a time an old man and old woman lived together in unity.  One day the old man went to the mountain to gather some firewood.  After a while he heard the terrible crying of a bird, and he found a crane.  The crane was caught in a trap.  He set it free quickly.  It circled above him while crying, and it flew far away.
   A few days later, there was the sound of knocking in the night.  When the man opened the door, a beautiful woman with white clothes was standing.  She said, "I lost my way.  May I stay in your home tonight?"  The old couple consented to her staying pleasantly.
   The next morning she asked the old man to buy some white yarn, because she wanted to repay him for the stay.  After he bought it she said, "Don't open this room while I am weaving."  She closed the door, and she began to weave.  She wove without rest for three days.  She opened the door having beautiful cloth, and she asked the old man to sell it.
   He went out to sell it.  Many people gathered in order to look at it, and they wanted to buy it.  Of course, he could sell it at a high price.  He could get a great deal of money, and he went back home.
   He thanked her for weaving the beautiful cloth.  She proposed to weave some more, and she reminded the old couple not to open the door while she was weaving.  And she began to weave cloth again.  She wove cloth many times.  Whenever the old man went to sell it, he could sell it at a high price.
   One day a merchant visited the old couple's house, and he wanted to get the beautiful cloth.  But the old couple didn't want her to weave it, because she looked tired.  The merchant brought a great deal of money, so the old man wanted to get it, and he asked her to weave it once more.  She consented to it, and she reminded them not to open the door again.  She didn't take a break as she usually did.  Three days passed, so the merchant came to their house to get the beautiful cloth.  Though she was usually finished in three days, she hadn't finished yet.  The merchant got weary of waiting for her, and he wanted to open the door.  The old man refused this suggestion, but he began to want to open it too.  They decided to open the door.  To their surprise, one crane was weaving there.  The crane pulled out its feathers, and wove cloth with these and the white yarn.  They closed the door immediately.
   After a while, she opened the door while holding the cloth.  She looked sad.  And she said, "I am the crane that you helped.  I wanted to repay your kindness, so I could be a human being.  But since you found my true figure, I can't stay here.  I am very sad."  Her figure changed into a white crane.  The old man repented of his conduct.  The crane flew up, crying with a said voice.

   -Kaoru Ida

Farmer and Cobra

1996

One day, there was a farmer going to the wildwood because he had to go to work at 7:00 PM.  But on the way, a cobra was wounded on the ground.  The farmer saw the wounded cobra, and thought that he should help the cobra, because it was a pity.  After he helped the cobra, though, the cobra came back to kill him, and soon he died!
   This story will teach everybody:  When you have a new friend, you must decide about the character of your friend, because a friend may not be sincere.

   -Piyaphon

La Llorona (The Weeping Woman)

This tale has existed in Mexico since Aztec times.  And it received many chances.

   La Llorona was a woman with a cruel heart.

   Luisa a beautiful and peasant girl who fell in love with Mr. Muno Montes Claros and bore him three sons.  When Muno abandoned her to marry a woman of his own class, Luisa murdered the three children and she felt tormented and killed her self and then her spirit started wandering through the streets of the city at night shrieking and sobbing.

   She wore a white robe and when people met her they asked her to remove her veil and show her pretty face.  When she uncovered her face people saw a skull.

  Every night this woman wanders in the streets and fields of my country and looks her children.

   1996

-Alfredo Rodiguez

This story happened a long time ago.  A father had three sons.  They lived in a small village.  There was a beautiful garden on their own land.  Several times someone took apples from their orchard.  And the father invited his sons and spoke to them:  "We must catch the one who robbed our orchard.  The older son will go to the orchard on the first night."  The older son went to the orchard, but he slept all night.  The father was bitter.  The next night the middle son went to the orchard.  But he slept too.  And the younger son went to the orchard on the third night.  The younger son's name was Ivan.  Ivan didn't sleep and at midnight, he saw that a beautiful horse invaded their orchard.  Ivan caught this horse.  But the horse said, "Ivan. don't take me, please.  I will help you, whenever you need, you can yell for me."  "Well, OK," answered Ivan, "you can go back to your place.  But you must never eat our apples."  "Fine," answered the horse.  The following morning Ivan went back to his house, and told his father, "Father, I didn't see anybody, but nobody will rob our apples anymore."  And the older brothers told their father an untruth about the younger brother.  They said, "Father, Ivan must be the one who robbed our apples, what do you think of that?"  Father agreed with the, and kicked Ivan out of his native house.
   It's a very long tale.  Ivan had a lot of problems, but the fairy horse helpedh im.  In the end, Ivan became king and married a beautiful, nice woman.

1996
   -Galina Demidenko

Sang Kancil and the King of the Jungle

A long long time ago, in the deep jungle of Malaysia, there lived a little mouse deer called Sang Kancil was very small compared to the other animals in this region, he always managed to keep himself from being eaten by the other animals because of his intelligence.  This is why he was very famous.
   One day, when Sang Kancil was wandering in the forest, he heard somebody crying.  Quickly he went to the place where the cry came from.  There he was very shocked to see his friend, Sang Kerbau the water buffalo, lying on the ground.  A pool of blood was around him, Sang Kancil quickly went over to Sang Kerbau and asked, "What happened!  What happened to you?"  Sang Lerbau was very weak.  He only managed to look up at Sang Kancil.  Before he could say anything, he dropped on the ground and died.  Sang Kancil was very sad.  Later he buried his friend.
   After buring his friend, Sang Kancil continued his jounrey.  In his mind, he really wanted to investigate what really happened to his friend.  While on the way, he met two other animals.  They looked very sad too.  One of them, Sang Arnab the rabbit, was crying.  His friend, Sang Rusa the deer, was comforting him.
   When Sang Kancil saw this, he walked to them and asked, "What really happened?"  He was very surprised to see that everybody was looking so sad, he said.  Earlier, he had seen his friend Sang Kerbau die being attacked by something, he continued.  After being persuaded, the two animals told Sang Kancil what really happened.
   It seems that Sang Harmau the tiger had declared himself as the King of the Jungle.  The King had ordered them to a meeting in the jungle one day.  There he ordered that every day one animal should be given to him as a sacrifice.  He warned that if this was not done, he would attack and kill every animal in the kingdom.
   Because the animals in the Kingdom were really afraid of their new King, they didn't know what to do but to agree to the demand.  There were some who tried to rebel against the King, but they were all destroyed by the fierce King.  Sang Kerbau was one of those.
   So every week, the animals in the Kingdom would meet at a certain place to cast a vote.  These votes were to see who would be the next victim.  Unfortunately Sang Arnab got the vote to be the next victim.
   With tears on his cheeks, Sang Arnab begged Sang Kancil to help him.  Feeling pity for Sang Arnab, Sang Kancil said, "I will, I will, my friend."  In his mind, he knew that he did not have any plans yet to destroy the King.
   Because it was very hot, Sang Kancil wanted to have a drink.  So Sang Rusa showed him to the well and took up a bucket of water to him.  While drinking he suddenly shouted, "Aha!  I've got an idea to help you all!"  The excited Sang Arnab started to ask, "What is it, Sang Kancil?  Tell me!  Please tell me what it is!"
   "Call a meeting if you still want to be alive.  I want to see every animal in the kingdom," said Sang Kancil.  Hearing the order, Sang Arnab quickly said, "I'll go now.  I'll go now, Sang Kancil."
   Within an hour, the hwole place was filled with animals.  Everybdoy was standing around Sang Kancil and wondering what the meeting was all about.  When everybody came, Sang Kancil began, "Thank you for coming to this meeting.  The only thing I would like to say is that I want to represent Sang Arnab for the offering to the King."  Everybody was shocked.  Some even thought he was crazy, but nobody dared to voice their opinion.
   Next morning, everybdoy was already at the King's compound.  The King, Sang Harimau, was sitting on a chair in the middle.  Everybody was already there except Sang Kancil.  Time passed and the King was getting bored and angry.  He made a fierce roar and shouted for his meal.  Finally Sang Kancil came.  He walked straight to the King and bowed down.
   "Sorry I am late, my lord.  On my way here, I met another tiger as big and powerful as you are," he said.  "He wanted me to be his food too."
   "Who is this animal?"  shouted the King.  "How dare he humiliate me!  Show me to him.  I will kill him myself!"  Hearing this, Sang Kancil smiled and quickly said, "I will, my lord."
   Sang Kancil showed the King the way to the place where he met Sang Arnab and Sang Rusa.  The rest of the animals did not follow because they were really afraid.  When Sang Kancil and the King were there, Sang Kancil quickly pointed out the well to the King and said, "He is in there, my lord."
   The King went there and looked down.  There he saw another tiger as big as he was, because of his reflection.  He roared as loud as he could, but the reflected sound produced the same roar.  Angrily he jumped down into the well, without realizing that he was being tricked.  He only realized that when he was in the water.  Because he could not do anything, he began to sink and finally drowned.
   After the death of the King, the animals wanted to elect Sang Kancil as their new King, but the idea was rejected by Sang Kancil.  He told them he preferred to roam around in the forest.

   -1985

1985

The Three Wise Men

Ted was almost entirely covered with the blanket, but he wasn't sleeping.  He was excited and he was waiting for any noise that indicated that they were coming.
   His mother told him in the morning: "Ted, you have to tell the truth, otherwise they won't bring you any presents."
   He started writing a letter; first he thought, "I should start by saying 'Dear Wise Men,' then he thought, "no, since Mom told me I have to tell the truth, it must be more formal," and he wrote:
   "To the Three Wise Men:"
   He picked up the letter that he had written for the previous year and started reading.
   "I promise to be a good boy, to go to school every day, to do my homework, to help my mother, not to fight with other kids and to feed my fishes."
   "Well," he thought," I don't think they will notice the day that I told Mom I felt sick and I didn't go to school, I didn't have my homework and I couldn't do it; that is a logical reason.  They must understand. I couldn't help my mom, because I had to go to school every day and do my homework and they must know that because they are wiser.  I didn't fight with other kids, and I couldn't continuously feed the fishes because they died, but not because I didn't feed them, I'm sure they know that.  In fact, I'm a good boy."
   It was almost 3:00 in the morning and Ted stayed awake, waiting for the Three Wise Men.
   He thought, "Maybe I made them angry, and they won't give me any presents.  Now that I told the other kids what I asked for, I should tell them that the day that I told my mother I was sick, I really wasn't, and I could have asked Robert for the homework, but I didn't do it.  I think Mom was right."
  He went to the living room, picked up the letter and broke it into little pieces.  Then he took a new sheet and wrote:
   "To the Three Wise Men:
     I'm sorry I couldn't carry out all the things that I promised.  But for next year, I promise:  I will always tell the truth."
   In the morning, when he opened his eyes, his heart was beating strongly.  He walked to the living room and his face was illuminated.  There was the new bicycle that the Three Wise Men left for him.

1985

The Princess and the Butterfly

Once upon a time, in a faraway oriental land, there was a beautiful Mandarin castle, where lots of trees with pink, white and yellow flowers, give the place a touch of enchantment.  Inside the castle was living a mandarin couple.  They were really happy, because a princess was born.  She was beautiful.  Her skin was as soft as a flower petal with red cheeks and dark soft hair.  She really unfortunately got spoiled , thinking everything she was was her property.  Even though she was young she started to be selfish since she was a child, and selfishness is not good.  One morning the princess woke up and she thought it was a beautiful day as usual.  But this morning was really special; it was her birthday.  She was happy, because she knew that her father would give her anything she wanted as a present, and she didn't have to share it with any of her friends.  She started to walk around.  Once she got a little far she saw a woods where the sun rays filtered through the leaves and there were lots of trees.  She liked what she was seeing.  She wanted to have that entire woods, just for her and nobody else.  Suddenly a lot of butterflies came all over the place.  There were different styles and colors of them; they were just beautiful.  Then, a real pretty one, the prettiest of those which have the biggest and most gorgeous wings with a silk black and gold yellow combination in a special design, came over.  The princess, surprised, started to wonder what was going on.  The fairy butterfly started to talk and told her not to have the woods because it wasn't good for the other kids.  Also, the butterflies love to see them playing around there.  The princess didn't care what she said and asked her father to have the woods.  The fairy and the other butterflies got really mad.  They decided to convert everything to a sad woods with nothing pretty.  There was no sun, no animals; everything was dead.  Now the princess was trying to understand what was happening.  She started to cry.  Then she remembered the words of that fairy.  She came back to the woods calling the fairy.  She told the fairy that she regretted what she did.  She promised not to be selfish anymore, and bring back the woods to normality so the other children could play too.  The butterflies started to touch everything, changing all to normality again.  The princess was happy, seeing that again.  She had learned a lesson; she was not selfish anymore.  Everybody was happy.  The princess now has lots of friends to play with and everything is good and happy again.

1985

A Little Black Fish

A long time ago there was a lake.  In this lake a million thousands of fishes lived together without any freedom to move.  One of them was a little black fish, who wanted to go out of the lake and find the ocean.  One day he asked his mother about it, but his mother laughed at him without any answer.  He asked everybody, but nobody answered him, because they thought that the little black fish was crazy.  The little black fish thought about it more and more.  Finally he decided to find the ocean without telling his family.  No one of his friends accepted his offer to go with him, so he left the lake alone.  On his way he met many animals, but none of them cared about him and his idea.  The only one who talked to him was an old frog.  He told the black fish that it was very dangerous to go and find the ocean, for he had heard about the shark who lived in that ocean.  The little black fish thought about that and said to himself, "to find freedom we have to fight."  Therefore, he left that place with a sword which the old frog gave him to defend himself with.
   He had so many problems on his way, but he didn't give up.  After one week, he met a group of fishes who were looking for the ocean too.  The little black fish became glad when he saw that group.  Finally they arrived in the ocean, but suddenly they saw a big shark that was coming toward them.  They shark opened his mouth to eat all the fishes, but the little black fish cut the shark's mouth with his sword.  Before he could escape from the shark, the little fish was killed by him.
   The fish killed the shark, but he was killed, too.  He was brave because he lost his life for others.  After that all the fishes moved to the ocean.  The baby fishes listened with amazement to their grandmother's story.  That's why fish live in the ocean now.

1985

A Fairy Story

Once upon a time, there was a poor family who lived in a small village.  There were five members in that family, a mother and four children.  The oldest child was an eight-year-old boy.  The father died of an illness when the youngest sister was born.  At that time the mother was so weak that the little boy had to do all of the housework for his mother.  He had to go out and pick up dried tree branches for fire, and he had to plant vegetables for the meals.
   One day, on his way home, he found a bag in the center of the road.  He was so curious that he opened it, and then closed it quickly.  He was astounded by the sparkles.  It must be precious stones, he thought.  He could sell them and get much money, and then he could buy whatever he wanted.
   A few minutes later, however, he changed his mind.  He decided to return it to the owner.  He waited for the owner to come back.  A few hours later, he fell asleep, and he saw a beautiful fairy standing in front of him and talking to him.  "What an honest boy you are!  I'd like to send you all of the jewels and a special basin which you could put every kind of stuff in.  When you take the stuff from the basin, then it would duplicated so there still would be another one in the basin.  You could get as many thing as you wanted."  When the little boy woke up, he found a basin beside him and took it home.

1985

A Mousedeer and His Tricks

In this paper, I would like to tell you a story about the mousedeer.  A mousedeer is an intelligent animal.  He always makes tricks in order to get whatever he wants.
   Once upon a time, in an unbelievable land of adventures and excitement, lived a group of animals who could talk to each other.  The King of animals in this place was a tiger.  All animals were afraid of him.
   One evening, a mousedeer was walking around.  Suddenly, he saw that a snake was sleeping on a tree.  Not far away from that tree, he saw that the king of animals was sleeping too.  He asked himself how to make the king of animals frightened, so that his friends would not be afraid of him.
   After a few minutes he got an idea.  He walked toward the king of animals. "Wake up!  Wake up!  King Solomon is coming!"  The king of animals quickly opened his eyes after he heard that news.
   "King Solomon has awarded you for controlling this place in peace and harmony," the mousedeer added.  He has given you a belt that is on that tree."  Without wasting any time, the king of animals left to that tree.
   He quickly took the belt and put it on.  After a few minutes, he felt that the belt squeezed him harder and harder.  Then, he realized that the belt that he wore was a snake.  He had to fight with the snake to survive, while the mousedeer was laughing and laughing.
   Then, the mousedeer left the king of animals struggling for his life, and he walked until he got tired and hungry.  He tried to search for food.  At last, he saw the red colors on the tree.  He walked closer and closer until he met a river.
   The red colors that he saw were "rambutan" trees which were on an island.  He tried to think how he could get there.  After a moment, he shouted to the crocodiles in the river.  He said, "King Solomon asked me to count your people in this river.  Therefore, hurry and make a row from the place where I stand to that island."
   The crocodiles started swimming to make a row.  Then, the mousedeer stepped on one crocodile to another, and counted like this, "One, Two, Three, Knock, your head has been knocked," until he reached the island.
   When he stepped on the island, he told the crocodiles, "King Solomon never asked me to count your people, but I wanted to eat from these ripened 'rambutan' trees."  After that, he walked to the trees and left the crocodiles in anger.
   There are many more stories about the mousedeer and his tricks.  Although he is in the category of smaller animals, his ability to make tricks on smaller and bigger animals has never disappeared.

The Naughty Children

Once upon a time there were two children called Carlitos and Carmen.  These two children had a kitten with whom they played as if it were a toy.  When they came back from school, the first thing they did was to fight each other over the cat.
   One day, after having played with the cat, they put the poor animal in the closet.  The day after the pet didn't appear anywhere.  They looked for it in the kitchen, under the furniture and outside the house.  While looking for her children's coats, their mother found a box in the closet.  When she opened the box, she found the cat almost lifeless.  Finally, after she had taken it to the veterinarian, the cat got well.  The children understood that the cat had suffered the consequences of their mischievousness.  Since then, they have accepted the fact that the cat isn't a toy.

1985

The Monkey and the Old Crocodile

In the old days there was a river, and one riverbank had a lot of trees with no fruit.  The other riverbank had a lot of trees with fruit, and the smell of fruit flew everywhere.  On the north side of the riverbank, the monkey wished that he could be on the west side of the riverbank.  The monkey didn't know how to get across to the other side of the river.  In the middle of the river there were a lot of crocodiles.  The monkey sat down, thought and thought, and finally got the answer.
  The monkey walked close to the river, and asked the old crocodile, "Old crocodile, could you give me a ride on your back to the other side of the river?"  The old crocodile said, "OK! but if I take you to the other side of the river, you must give me your heart."  The monkey answered, "I would agree, but the red heart is not with me.  The red heart is on the other side of the river; I hung it on top of the tree."
   The old crocodile thought and thought and then said, "If I took you to the other side of the river, then you would climb up into that tree and bring down the red heart to me."  The monkey agreed, "But you must wait until I get on top of the tree."  The old crocodile agreed, and the monkey climbed on top of the old crocodile's back.  The old crocodile swam slowly, slowly to the other side of the riverbank.  When the old crocodile reached the bank, immediately the monkey jumped off his back, and climbed into the tree.  The monkey was very happy and sat on top of the tree eating fruits.  The old crocodile waited and waited, and then said, "Bring down the red heart to me as you had agreed."  The monkey answered, "If you want my red heart, then you come up here and get it."

1985

A Little Pretty Rabbit

Once upon a time, in the southern part of the country, one rabbit family lived.  The youngest, prettiest daughter was called "Sara".
   Sara wore a very soft long white-colored coat, and her ears were very silky and long and stood straight.  Her ears moved very fast from front to back, if she wanted to hear something.  Her nose was always busy smelling.
   Sara didn't like apples and carrots.  She wanted to eat what she liked only.
   Sara was born in a place where there was no snow, and her family had a wonderful, small house.  The house was decorated with various, beautiful fragrant flowers.  Around the house the river flowed between wooded banks.  The birds were singing on the trees everywhere.
   Sara liked to play all day.  Sometimes she sang a song, ran in the field or jumped the hill.  She was very happy.
   One day Sara began to think, how wonderful it would be if I would go to some other place, which was different.  She thought of her friend who was living in the northern part of the country.  The northern part had very much snow compared to the southern.  Her friend wrote to her, saying that her house was covered with deep snow.  "I am enjoying skiing and skating every day.  I am so happy to be having snow."  Sara could hardly imagine the sight.  She didn't know how enjoyable skiing and skating were.
   Sara was eager to go there and to see snow.  She suddenly envied the friend.  She was unhappy and everything seemed to bore her.  Her mother recognized that Sara was unhappy, and her mother allowed Sara to go to her friend.
   After one week, Sara reached the house where her friend lived.  She was happy to see the snow.  Sara jumped in the snow and ate it and played with snowballs.  Suddenly, she was very tired and hungry.  Her friend had only carrots.  Sara didn't like it, but she was very hungry.  She tried to eat.  Suddenly she missed all her family and their good food.  Sara thought, "My native homeland is best."  Now Sara eats everything her mother gives her.  She is always happy.

1985

Golden Eggs

A long time ago, there was a place called Kakasu.  It was located in a very isolated valley.  In this place, Kakasu, lived a young but poor couple.  They were very lazy, too.
   One day, the husband prayed to a fairy.  They said they were too poor and they asked for help.  At that time, his wife was nearly starved to death.  Suddenly, the fairy appeared.  The fairy gave a golden chicken to the poor couple, telling them that the chicken could lay a golden egg every day.
   This made the couple very happy, because they needn't suffer from starving anymore.
   After the fairy left, they began to let the chicken lay eggs.  Just like the fairy told them, the egg was a golden egg.  Therefore, by exchanging the egg with the people in the village, they became rich.  They could eat whatever they wanted.  They could buy a house, some clothes and everything.
   Unfortunately, a greedy thought came to the husband and wife's minds.  They thought of becoming rich faster.  Instead of waiting for the eggs day by day, they thought of cutting the chicken's stomach and getting the eggs sooner.
   So they did that.  Once they cut the chicken, though, the chicken died and became black ash.  They couldn't find any eggs in the stomach.  The clothes they wore and the house they lived in became black ash, too.  Suddenly, they realized that they were wrong.  The repented and regretted what they had done but it was too late.

1985

The Rabbit and the Lion

Animals were eaten by lion one by one and it was time for the rabbit.  All animals gathered together and decided to kill the lion.
   Rabbits go to the lion place very late where lion was very angry, because he was very hungry.
   Rabbit said, "Hello sir, did I come late?"  "I am very sorry for coming late sir."
   "Yes you did," the lion said, "Come on get ready for the dying."
   "But first of all I want to show you another lion, who lives next to you sir," the rabbit begged.  "Then you can eat me sir."
   "Ok then hsow me quickly where is another lion,"  the lion said.
   Then the lion followed the rabbit.  After a few minutes walking, the rabbit pointed to the well.
   "Here it is sir," said the rabbit.
   "Oh yes, I am going to kill him first, you stay there until I come," said the lion.
   He jumped into the well because he saw the reflection of his own face.  After a few minutes the lion was drowned in the well and dead.  Animals lived happily and enjoyed their life.

   -Chandra

The Ant and the Cicada

1985

The story I am going to tell happened many years ago in the countryside of an unspecified city.  IT was summer and all the trees were green and filled all over with colored flowers.
   Close to a big tree, an ant and a cicada were living their lives as neighbords, or better, as acquaintances.  The ant was there building up her nest, while the cicada was above all, going around that part of the country, enjoying the beautiful sunny days, and the fleeting friendships of some crickets.
   During the day the ant used to work hard; she always had something to do, like raising food or heaping up little pieces of straw to protect and strengthen the refuge for her and all the family.
  If the cicada was not sleeping, she was surely singing and kidding her friend at work for that fool mania of wasting time in the uselessness of the work.
   At night the ant intended to rest after so much work, but generally the cicada was giving her performance right on that tree, and it was impossible to close her eyes.
   One day the ant heard a knock at the door during the early morning, so she glanced out the window, and saw all the landscape covered with snow.
   Winter had arrived, and the easy cicada, without a warm nest, was looking for one; the ant opened the door just a little bit and said:  "Sorry, but there isn't a place in this house for those persons who don't understand the utility of work."  The cicada went away, and was never seen again.


   -unknown

The Old Heron

1985

In the land of desert, there is a small lake where the old heron had fed himself since he was young, by catching all kinds of fish.  Day after day, the fish population was decreasing, plus they (fishes) were getting smart.  That made the old heron have a harder time catching them.  One day, he realized he was old and unable to do a lot of things as he did in the younger years.  Because of that, in order to survive, he had to do a new trick.
    A few days passed, and he just stood there in the middle of a shallow lake and waited for a tricky moment.  When the fishes saw him they wondered how the scary old heron had changed, and then they asked him why he looked so extremely sad.  The old heron said, "I am too old.  All of the fish had sympathy for him as he continued and said, "I was praying that you would grant my wish."
   The grateful fish suddenly asked what his wish was.  The old heron responded by telling them that before he died he wanted to be useful, and he further said he could help the fish to migrate to a better place.  At first, all the fishes did not believe him, but they agreed that they needed a better place to live. Finally, they sent their representative to go with the old heron in the searching trip.
   The old heron brought the representative to a wonderful place; there was a lot more room for them to live; it had delicious nutrients for feeding themselves all year long.  When the representative got back he told all the fish how convenient and exciting the new place was.  They were enthusiastic after they heard about it, and they granted the old heron's wish.  After that day, he took all of the fish to his net instead of the new lake, and he ate them.
   This story tells us that the brain is a usable tool for everyday life.

   -unknown

A Lesson in Individuality

1985

Hantan was a prefecture in Chao-Kuo (which was located in Hopeh Province of Mainland China), during the WArring States period (403-222 B.C.)  The people of Hantan were renowned for their prowess at walking.  A young boy in Yen-Kuo (also in Hopeh province(, admiring their skills, decided to go to Hantan and study the walking methods of the local people.
   After a long and arduous journey, he finally reached his destination.  He immediately began to scrutinize and imitate the walking postures of the pedestrians.  However, not only was he unsuccessful in his attempt, but he also completely forgot his own original walking style.  Therefore, he had no alternative but to crawl home.
   This fable is drawn from the teachings of the famous Chiense philosopher Chuang-tze.  The story is a metaphor that teaches us not to emulate the actions of others, lest we lose the unique characteristics that make us individuals.

A Lying Shepherd

Fairy Tales
1985

Once upon a time, there was a shepherd who was taking care of a group of sheep.  Every morning, he took them to the top of the green hills to graze.  He spent all day with the sheep around the farm, and he also played a flute.
   Sometimes, without any reason, he shouted for help.  It was his favorite to act that his sheep were attacked by a wolf.  Actually, when he was asking for help, there was nothing that had happened, and everything was just fine.  The people who believed him got there as fast as they could, to assist him.  Then they found out that there was nothing wrong and that he was joking.
   Naturally, the shepherd of our story lost his reputation by lying.  Furthermore, everybody knew him as a liar.  The shepherd not only didn't care about his reputation as a liar, but also, he continued doing his bad hobby.
   One day, a wolf rushed at the sheep, so he was afraid and really needed help.  He shouted for help.  The people heard his scream, but nobody helped him, because they thought he was joking again.
  The shepherd got very sad and disappointed because the wolf took one of his sheep.  He also learned a lesson: that lying is a bad hobby, so he decided not to lie from that moment on.
 
   -unknown

Don't Count Your Chickens Before They're Hatched

1984

Far away somewhere in South East Asia lived a small family on an isolated island.  The family consisted of a young boy named Ahmad, and his aging mother who already could not move much due to old age.
   Every day it was Ahmad's duty to go out to sea to catch some fish for the nourishment.  Their life depended on seafood and wild fern for their nourishment.  Finding the right fern was his mother's duty because there was only a particular kind that could be consumed.
   At the break of dawn, after the sound of the rooster, Ahmad set out to do his daily duty.  While paddling out to sea, Ahmad's mind went back to the day before, to his first experience of the big city.  He was overwhelmed by the size of the tall buildings, the crowd, how people dressed themselves so colorfully and up--to-date.  Most of all, he was overwhelmed by the large number of cars, and became attracted to a particular black sports car.  The black car kept reflecting in his mind over and over again.
   Ahmad planned to have that car one day; he had it all figured out in his mind.  First he planned to get lots of fish, which he would invest in poultry trading.  These chickens would provide both meats and eggs.  Some of these eggs would be kept to hatch into some more chickens, while others would be sold in the market.  These chickens would continue to multiply and multiply into large numbers.  He would save all the money until he could afford to buy the car when he turned into a young man.
   Therefore, taht day Ahmad went too far out to the sea, where he himself had not explored, hoping to catch a larger amount of fish.
   As he paddled further and further out to the sea, the waves became rougher.  The clouds started to turn darker every minute.  He was so overwhelmed with his catch, that he did not realize that it started to rain until it was pouring heavily.
   The sea was too rough for the small boat, and it overturned, throwing Ahmad into the deep ocean.  The waves were too rough, pushing Ahmad even further from the overturned boat.
   Back home, Ahmad's mother had long ago returned from the search for wild fern.  She had been waiting impatiently for her only son to return hours past his usual time, for he had never returned so late.
   Late that night, a very weak knock was heard from the wooden hut.  The knock was so weak that one could barely hear it.  Finally, the old woman between tears opened the door.  Upon seeing that her son was actually lying at the door, she hugged her son with happy tears dripping from her eyes.
   Ahmad learned his lesson, "never count your chickens before they're hatched."

   -unknown

The Man of the Magic

1984

Once upon a time, there was somebody called the Man of the Magic.  This story took place in a city called Saihat in K.S.H.  The story started in that place about ten years ago.  It was believed that there was a man who broke into homes and kidnapped little kids.  He practiced his activities at night; in other words, he was called a nocturnal man.  Not only was be believed to kidnap children, but he also made people live in fear and worry.  At that time, there were so many problems, e.g. robbing, kidnapping, etc.  People were just about to think of him as if he were real.  It was believed to have seen that man wearing very heavy clothes with big gold chains around his neck.  He reported what he saw to the police.  Then, the police searched that area where he was thought to have been seen for about a week, day and night.  They came up with nothing.  Finally, people decided that there wasn't such a man existing, and what they thought about was a legend.

 

A Fairy Tale

1984

Long, long ago, there was a small village at the foot of a mountain.  There were five families in the village.  Mr. Goat's family, Mr. Rabbit's family. Mr. Fox's family, Mr. Chicken's family, and Mr. Shrike's family all lived in the village peacefully.
   One day there was a guest, Mr. Wolf, who wanted to visit Mr. Fox's family.  On his way to Mr. Fox's house, Mr. Shrike saw him and said hello to him.  "It is a nice day to visit friends, isn't it?"  said Mr. Wolf. "Sure, it is,"  said Mr. Shrike.  Then they talked a lot.  "Here is Mr. Fox's house."  "Mr. Fox, is anybody home?" said Mr. Shrike.  "Who is it?" said Mrs. Fox.  "Here is Mr. Wolf, who wants to visit your family, and I bring him here."  said Mr. Shrike.  "Welcome!  Welcome!  Come in, please!" said Mrs. Fox.  "Thank you!" said Mr. Wolf.  "OK, I will go back then!" said Mr. Shrike.  "Bye-Bye!"  they said to each other.
   Two days later, something happened in this village.  One of Mr. Chicken's children got lost.  Everybody helped the family look for the child, but in vain.  And then one of Mr. RAbbit's children also got lost.  Three days later, Mr. Goat found a pile of bones under a pine tree far away from the village.  Mr. Goat went back to tell the people of the village what he had seen.  EVeryone went there to check out whether it was the chicken's bones or the rabbit's bones.  They found that it was the chicken's bones.  Mrs. Chicken cried sadly.  Mr .Chicken picked them up and took them home to bury them.
  The families decided to find out who the murderer was.  All of the families were present except Mr. Fox's family.  The leader of the village decided to visit Mr. Fox and tell him all of the facts.  When the Fox's family heard of these tragedies, they were sad about them, and they promised that they would help find the murderer.  In the meantime Mr. Wolf was in the bedroom and heard all of these facts.  He had done all of these things, but he would not say anything about this.  That night he decided to leave his friend's house without any word.
   The next morning Mrs. Fox found that Mr. Wolf had gone.  She talked with her husband and guessed that Mr. Wolf must have known these facts or he had done these bad things.  Mr. Fox and Mrs. Fox decided to visit Mr .Wolf and find out whether the guess was right or not.  When they arrived at Mr. Wolf's house, they found that Mr. Wolf had moved away.  At last they decided to tell the leader of the village what they guessed.  Everyone confessed to having this guess.  They went to the police station to report the murders to the police, and asked the police to arrest the murderer.  The policeman wrote everything down and told them to wait for any information about the murderer at home.  Then they went back home.
   A month later, the policeman notified the people of the village that the murderer had been arrested and would have the village all appeared at the law court on Sept. 20, 1935.  They saw that the criminal was hanged later.  The families they saw that the criminal was hanged later.  The families all felt a little better now, and had their lives like before.

   -unknown

The Tiger and the Fox

1984

One day, when a fox was walking pleasantly in the forest, a tiger suddenly jumped down from a tree and caught the dox.  The fox was so scared that he peed on the tiger's body.  The tiger was very angry and said, "Bad smell!  Actually I wanted to let you go; however, your peeing made my body have a bad smell; how am I going to see my girlfriend with my dirty body?"  The fox was anxious after listening to the tiger's words.  The tiger opened his mouth and moved his teeth near the fox's throat.  At that moment, the fox said bravely, "I am the king of this forest, you can't eat me and you have to respect me."  The tiger was wondering for awhile and started thinking about what the fox had said.  the fox continued his peaking without giving the tiger to think.  The fox said loudly, "I can prove that I am the king in this forest, if you give me a chance."  The tiger asked unbelievingly, "How are you going to prove it?  I warn you- if you lie, I will kill you."  The fox explained, "I am going to walk around this forest and you follow at my back; then, you will see all the animals run away when they see me."  The tiger doubted and thought, "if I kill him right now, I can't know who is the king."  After a moment, he said, "OK, I will follow you."  The tiger released the fox.
   They started their trip in the forest.  The tiger carefully looked around while he was following the fox.  All the animals ran away when they saw the tiger coming their way.  After they felt tired, the fox stopped walking and told the tiger proudly, "Did you see that?  All of the animals ran away when I was coming."  The tiger said, "Yes, you are the king; however, if I don't eat you, you will pee on my body again."  The fox was going to run away after listening to him; however, it was too late, because the tiger's mouth had reached his throat already.

   -untitled

The Story of an Owl

1984

Once upon a time, there was a quiet village in the woods where many kinds of birds lived together peacefully.  One day an owl moved into that village from a neighboring woods, and the first night after he moved all the birds in that village could not sleep because he had been hooting all night long.  On the next morning a magpie who lived in the tree next to him complained to the owl about his hooting, and he promised that he would try not to hoot at night.  On the second night, however, he would try not to hoot at night.  On the second night, however, he did not break his old habit of hooting, and hooted again.  So not only the magpie, but also many birds began to feel discontented with him and some of them complained.  One fine morning a wise crow who lived in the same woods saw the owl was packing up his sundries and asked why he was packing.  Then the owl said, "Nobody in this village loves me like before, so I am going to move to another woods where more friendly birds live."  After the crow listened to him, he said to the owl. "There will be no more friendly village than here, once you stop hooting at night."  And he added, "Love and be lovely to be loved."

-unknown

The Black Angel

1984

One foggy midnight, two friends and I drove along Church Street toward the east.  We were going to take a view of a statue of an angel, the black angel, in the cemetery.
   There was a loving couple who lived in Iowa City about one hundred years ago.  The husband had to work outside to make the family's living and often came back home very late.  He was a good husband; at least, his wife thought so.  He was so kind and considerate to her that he never even told her any trouble he encountered outside.  Once he got sick.  Although he was treated by many doctors for several weeks, his sickness became more and more serious.  Finally he died with worrisome eyes.
   Surely the wife was very sad about his death.  She loved her husband so much that she decided to find an angel to take care of the soul of him who had been such a good husband.  Thus, she had a white statue of a beautiful angel molded over his grave.  AFter that, she often stood in front of the grave and prayed for the angel to bless his soul.
   One day, when she was arranging the bookcase that her husband left behind, she found a terrible secret in his diary.  Her deeply loving husband had had a woman outside.  He kept his trust with that woman even at the beginning of his sickness, and she did not know at all.  She was almost going to be mad.  She could not believe her eyes, but it was true.  She was as hateful as she had been sad.  From that day on, she never went to his grave.  Her swearing replaced her blessing; she cursed her dead husband every day.  It was said that that was the reason the color of that white statue of the angel turned into black.

USA

Miss Clam and Mr. Snipe

   It is a sunny afternoon at a beach near Miami.  Mr. Snipe just gets out from the Holiday Inn; he is a tourist from Russia.  He always hears people say that Miami's seafood is the best in the world, but he is very disappointed about the seafood he ate at Long John Silver Restaurant last night.  So, he decided to go to the beach and seek some luck.
   At the same time, Miss Florida Clam is taking a sun bath at the same beach Mr. Snipe is walking toward; she plans to join the Miss U.S.A pageant next week, and that's why the color of her skin is so important.  She lays down on the sand, opens her shells wide to try to get as much sunshine as she can; that makes the smell of clam fill the air.
   With the first step on the beach, Mr. Snipe already knows this is his lucky day; he sees Miss Clam and the smell sure makes him hungry.  He walks sneakily and gets closer and closer to her.
Suddenly, he pecks her with his long beak.  Under the attack, Miss Clam closes her shell at once; by chance, she squeezes Mr. Snipe's beak in between her shells and he can not take it out.
   Finally, Mr. Snipe says, "OK, I give up, I will buy a hamburger to be my dinner, please let me go."  Miss Clam answers him, "No, if I let you go, you will try again; I do not want to be your meal."  This struggle goes on endlessly.
   Several hours later, a Japanese car dealer takes a walk after working 12 hours.  When he is passing by Miss Clam and Mr. Snipe, they are unconscious, because they have been under the sun too long.  So, he puts them on his TOYOTA pickup and takes them back to his home.  That evening Mr. Snipe and Miss Clam become famous Japanese foods, bean-falvored clam and Japanese-style Bar-B-Q snipe.
   It is just like the Chinese saying, "it is the third party that benefits from the tussle."

   -unknown

The Brave Lion and the Girl

1984

Amy is a timid girl.  She is afraid of everything.  She fears the dark.  She fears talking with people. playing with bigger children, and she fears small animals. 

   A lion named Dave is a small white lion, who likes to help people to live a happy life!  He knows Amy and takes pity on her.  He intends to encourage her to get her own confidence.

   One day, he knocks on her door, and says, "Hello!  My name is Dave.  I want to make friends with you!"  Poor Amy shrinks and trembles.  "Who are you?  I've never known you!  You . . . you are a lion, aren't you?"  Dave shakes hands with her and tells her:  "Yes, I'm a real lion,  but I'm kind and friendly.  I am your friend!  Now, let's go out and play!"

   Amy is afraid. but she follows him.  They go to a garden and meet many rabbits.  Amy wants to go back.  She is very afraid.  Dave shows her a carrot and feeds a rabbit.  He says, "You see it is calm and lovely.  Why don't you feel its skin?  It's smooth and warm, isn't it?"  Amy feels better, and then she doesn't fear rabbits.

   Then they go to a playground to look at some children playing.  They laugh and laugh, and enjoy the hide-and-seek.  "Why don't we join them?  Dave says.  Amy is still afraid, but she has more confidence in Dave.  "Yah, yes, let's play!" she murmurs.  They play with many children happily.  She needs not be afraid!

   In the evening Dave leads Amy home.  The room is so dark that you can see nothing there.  Amy doesn't want to go in.  Dave leads her by the hand and enter, saying:  "Darkness is nothing.  You see, you are coming in and without getting hurt!"  Amy conquers another fear again!

   Finally Dave waves his hand and says: "You are a brave girl now!  I'm leaving, Bye-Bye!"

   -unknown