The Cock-Star

A long time ago, in the country, there was a poor farmer who had a son.  At that time, they couldn't grow rice or anything, because they hadn't had rain for a long time.  They had a hen and her chicks.  She loved her chicks with all her heart although it was very hard to find some food to feed them.
   One day, the farmer's son told the farmer, "We're going to die, I want some food.  Let me kill the hen."  And he caught the hen to kill.  Before the hen died, she talked to her chicks, and she had a lot of tears.  She told them that the farmer had fed her when she was young and built the home for her.  Now the land was not abundant, and she should do something for him and his family.  She was pleased to die for him.  She was killed and put in the boiled water.  Her chicks were very sad, and they agreed to jump into the boiled water and they died.
   When the farmer saw that, he was very sad.  "I should not killed my only hen."  That night, while he thought about the hen and her sons, he saw something in the sky.  He saw the appe4arance of new stars.  He was very surprised because they looked like his hen and her sons.  From that day until now, you can see the group of stars that look like a chicken.  You should know that the stars are the spirits of the hen and her sons.  The stars are landmarks for the love of the little cocks for their mother.

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

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

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
 

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

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Jan. - Mar. 1996

Fairy Tales

One day, a long time ago in the big forest, there was a very nice rabbit and a big turtle; they met each other, because they had an appointment to run together.  The rabbit had told the turtle, "You walk too slowly; you cannot run faster than me."  so those animals competed running in the big forest, because the turtle did not believe that he would run more slowly than the rabbit.  They were going to start at a big tree, then they were going to finish at another big tree in that forest.  They had an old monkey as referee.  After they started, the rabbit, who could run very fast, ran far, passing the turtle.  But the turtle, who could not run very fast, kept running step by step.  One hour later, the rabbit thought that the turtle could not pass him, so he took a nap under the tree.  The turtle was never discouraged, so he ran slowly, then he was able to pass the rabbit; because the rabbit was taking a nap, he did not know the turtle was passing him.  Soon the turtle was able to run across the finish line first.  When the rabbit awoke, he ran to the finish line too, but he was late.  The lesson of this tale is, "Do not be careless," because it is going to make you lose everything.

-Kitiiphong

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June 1996
fairy tales

A fox lived in the forest.  One day he walked through a flock of sheep; all of the sheep saw the fox, and they were afraid of the fox and ran way.  The fox caught up with a young sheep.  The young sheep quickly ran into the forest through a creek, but the fox didn't follow the sheep, because the fox hated to go down into the creek, and the young sheep wouldn't come up out of the creek.  So, the fox lied to the sheep, "Your mother is coming to help you here; I've got to go."  Then the fox walked and hid behind a rock, and the young sheep walked up the creek to find his mother.  Suddenly the fox jumped up and killed the sheep, so the sheep died from his foolishness.  According to this story, the foolish man is the victim of a smart man.

   -Charoen

The Rabbit and the Turtle

There is an aggressive rabbit.  It always thinks that it can run very fast.  One day, this rabbit meets a turtle and laughs at the turtle because the turtle walks very slowly.  The rabbit dares the turtle to race.  The turtle agrees with the rabbit.  When the racing begins, the rabbit runs faster than the turtle and thinks that hte turtle can not win in this race.  so, the rabbit rests under a big tree and sleeps.  The rabbit sleeps for a long time but the turtle does not stop walking.  Finally, the turtle is able to beat the rabbit.
   This story gives us a good idea: "Don't be too aggressive" and "Keep trying, and you will succeed."

   -Kanokporn

A Fairy Tale

  Spring 1993

 Once upon a time, a man had the name of Sritanochai.  He was a clever man.  He could solve difficult questions.  He was a very famous man.
      Then, men from other provinces wanted to give him difficult questions.
   When he was a child, he had had a yougner brother.  His mother said,  "You take a shower, for your brother is very clean."  do you know what he did?  He killed his brother because he wanted to be clean on the inside of his body.  This was a bad thing, but he was still a hero.  When he was an adult, he worked for the king.  Kings from other countries wanted to try him but he could solve all difficult questions.  He was more popular than the king.  Then, the kings wanted to kill him.  The kings took him because he told the jailer that he wanted sugar because he was ill, and he saved his own life.  Finally, in the morning, we was killed by a soldier.  This tale teaches us that "you should do the best things, but don't show off."  this fairy tale sounds bad, but most Thai people know him.  This hero wasn't a hero all the time.

  -Michelle, Thailand