The Lion and the Mouse

Once whe n a Lion was as lee p, a little Mouse b e g a n r u n n i n g u p a n d d o w n u p o n h i m . T h is s o o n wa kened the Lion, who p la ce d his hug e p aw up on h i m a n d o p e n e d h i s b ig j a w s t o s w a l l o w h im . " P a r d o n , O K i n g ! " c r ie d t h e l i t t l e M o u s e , " F o r g i ve m e t h i s t i m e . I s h a l l n e ve r r e p e a t i t a n d I s h a l l n e v e r f o rg e t y o u r k i n d n e s s . A n d w h o k n o w s , b u t I ma y be ab le to d o you a g ood turn one of the se days?" T h e L i o n w a s s o t i c k l e d a t t h e i d e a o f t h e M o u s e b e i n g a b l e t o h e lp h i m , t h a t h e lifte d up his pa w and let him go S o m e t i m e l a t e r a f e w h u n t e rs c a p t u r e d t h e K i n g a n d t ie d h i m t o a t re e w h i l e t h e y w e n t i n s e a rc h of a wag on to c a rry him on. Jus t the n the little Mouse ha ppe ne d to p ass b y, a n d s e e i n g t h e s a d p l ig h t i n w h i c h t h e L i o n w a s , r a n u p t o h i m a n d s o o n g n a w e d a w a y t h e ro p e s t h a t b o u n d t h e K i n g o f t h e B e a s t s . "W a s I n o t rig ht? " sa id the little Mous e, ve ry happ y to he lp the Lion. M O R A L : L i t t le f r i e n d s m a y p ro v e g re a t f r i e n d s .

The Goose with the Golden Eggs

Once whe n a Lion was as lee p, a little O n c e u p o n a t im e , a m a n a n d h is w i f e h a d t h e g ood fortune to ha ve a g oose which la id a g olde n e g g e ve r y d a y . L u c k y t h o u g h t h e y w e r e , t h e y s oon b eg an to think the y we re not ge tting ric h fa s t enoug h. The y imag ined tha t if the b ird must be ab le to la y g olde n egg s, its ins ides mus t be ma de of g o l d . A n d t h e y t h o u g h t t h a t i f t h e y c o u ld g e t a l l tha t p rec ious me ta l a t once , the y would g et mig hty rich ve ry s oon. So the man a n d h is w i f e d e c i d e d t o k i l l t h e b i r d .

H o w e ve r , u p o n c u t t i n g t h e g o o s e o p e n , t h e y w e re s h o c ke d t o f i n d t h a t i t s i n n a r d s w e re l i k e t h a t o f a n y o t h e r g o o s e ! M O R A L : TH I N K B E F O RE Y O U

The Fox and the Stork

A s e lfis h fox onc e invite d a s tork to d inne r a t his h o m e a n d f o r a j o ke p u t n o t h i n g b e f o re h e r b u t s o m e s o u p i n a ve r y s h a l l o w d i s h . T h e f o x c o u l d e a s i l y l a p t h i s u p , b u t t h e S t o r k c o u ld o n l y w e t the e nd of he r long b ill in it, a nd s ta yed hung ry. I a m s orry tha t the soup is not to your liking , " said the fox with a sly smile. " O h , p le a s e d o n o t a p o l o g is e , " s a id t h e S t o r k . " I h o p e y o u w i l l r e t u rn t h i s v i s i t , a n d c o m e a n d d i n e w i t h m e t o o s o m e t i m e . " S o a d a y w a s a p p o i n t e d w h e n t h e F o x s h o u ld v i s i t t h e Stork. F i n a l l y , w h e n t h e y w e re s e a t e d a t t h e t a b l e , t h e Stork se rved the m b oth s ome soup in a very l o n g - n e c ke d j a r w i t h a n a r r o w m o u t h . T h e s t o r k d ra nk the soup ea s ily b ut the fox c ould not ins e rt his s nout into the ta ll ja r. This time it was the F o x s t u rn t o g o h u n g r y . M O R A L : O N E B A D TU R N D E S E RV E S A N O TH E R .

The Hare and the Tortoise

T h e re o n c e w a s a s p e e d y H a re w h o b r a g g e d a b o u t h o w f a s t h e c o u ld r u n . T i r e d o f h e a r i n g h im b o a s t , t h e T o rt o i s e c h a l l e n g e d h i m t o a r a c e . A l l t h e a n i m a ls i n t h e f o re s t g a t h e r e d t o w a t c h . T h e H a re r a n d o w n t h e and p ause d to rest. He t o r t o i s e a n d c r ie d o u t , t h i s r a c e w h e n y o u a re s low, s low pa ce ? " ro a d f o r a w h i l e a n d t h e n looked back at the "H o w d o y o u e x p e c t t o w i n wa lking a long a t your

T h e H a re s t re t c h e d h i m s e l f o u t a l o n g s id e t h e r o a d a n d fe l l a s l e e p , t h i n k i n g , "The re is p le nty of time to re la x. " T h e T o r t o i s e w a l k e d a n d w a l ke d ; n e v e r e ve r s t o p p i n g u n t i l h e c a m e t o t h e f i n i s h

line. T h e a n im a l s w h o w e r e w a t c h i n g c h e e r e d s o l o u d l y f o r T o r t o i s e , t h a t t h e y w o k e u p H a re . T h e H a re s tretc hed a nd ya wned a nd b eg an to run a ga in, b u t i t w a s t o o l a t e . T o r t o i s e w a s a l re a d y o v e r t h e line. M O R A L : S L O W A N D S TE A D Y W I N S TH E R A C E

The Monkey and the Dolphin

One d a y long ag o, s ome sa ilors se t out to s ea in the ir s a i l i n g s h i p . O n e o f t h e m b ro u g h t h i s p e t m o n ke y a l o n g for the long journe y. W h e n t h e y w e r e fa r o u t a t s e a , a t e r r ib l e s t o r m o v e r t u r n e d t h e i r s h i p . E v e r y o n e fe l l i n t o t h e s e a , a n d t h e m o n ke y w a s s u re t h a t h e w o u l d d r o w n . S u d d e n l y a d o l p h i n a p p e a re d a n d p i c ke d h i m u p . The y s oon rea c hed the is la nd a nd the monke y c ame d o w n f r o m t h e d o l p h i n s b a c k . T h e d o l p h i n a s k e d t h e m o n ke y , D o y o u k n o w t h i s p l a c e ? The monke y rep lied , Yes , I d o. In fa c t, the king of the island is my be st friend. Do you know that I am a c tua lly a p rince? Knowing that no one live d on the is la nd , the dolp hin s a i d , W e l l , w e l l , s o y o u a re a p r i n c e ! N o w y o u c a n b e a k i n g ! T h e m o n ke y a s k e d , H o w c a n I b e a k i n g ? A s t h e d o l p h i n s t a r t e d s w im m i n g a w a y , h e a n s w e re d , T h a t i s e a s y . A s y o u a re t h e o n l y c r e a t u re o n t h i s i s la n d , y o u w i l l n a t u r a l l y b e t h e k i n g !

Those who lie and boast may end up in trouble

The Wolf and the Lamb

A l a m b w a s g ra z i n g w i t h a f l o c k o f s h e e p o n e d a y . She s oon found s ome swee t g ras s at the ed ge of t h e f i e ld . F a r t h e r a n d f a r t h e r s h e w e n t , a w a y f r o m t h e o t h e rs . She wa s e njoying he rse lf s o muc h tha t s he d id not n o t i c e a w o l f c o m i n g n e a r e r t o h e r. H o w e v e r , w h e n i t p o u n c e d o n h e r , s h e w a s q u ic k t o s t a r t p l e a d i n g , P l e a s e , p l e a s e d o n t e a t m e ye t . M y s t o m a c h i s f u l l

of g ra ss . If you wa it a while , I will ta ste much be tte r. The wolf thought tha t was a g ood ide a , s o he sa t down a nd wa ite d. Afte r a while, the lamb s a id, If you a llow me to d a nce , the g ras s in my stoma ch will b e d i g e s t e d f a s t e r. A g a i n t h e w o l f a g re e d . W h i l e t h e l a m b w a s d a n c i n g , s h e h a d a n e w i d e a . S h e s a i d , P l e a s e t a ke t h e b e l l f r o m a r o u n d m y n e c k . I f y o u r i n g i t a s h a rd a s y o u c a n , I w i l l b e a b le t o d a n c e e v e n fa s t e r . T h e w o l f t o o k t h e b e l l a n d r a n g i t a s h a rd a s h e c ou l d . T h e s h e p h e r d h e a r d t h e b e l l r i n g i n g n d q u i c k l y s e n t h is d o g s t o f i n d t h e m i s s i n g l a m b . T h e b a r k i n g d o g s f r i g h t e n e d t h e w o l f a w a y a n d s a v e d t h e l a m b s l i f e .

The gentle and weak can sometimes be cleverer than fierce and strong.

Did You Thank Allah for Your Eyesight?

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" The What Do man he you said, had think "I only written the first wrote was: sign the truth. I is the said a what beautiful sign you said day were but and saying in I a different see way." it." thing?

"Today and

cannot the

second

same

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective? "It is He, Who has created for you (the sense of) hearing (ears), sight (eyes), and hearts (understanding). Little thanks you give." [surah Al-Mu'minun; 78] An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by-still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But honest about what happened, Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful-in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey nice try." When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!" All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!" When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor? Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!" The Prophet taught, "Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and AlFajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar." [Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 8:116]

Hachiko, the Faithful Dog

In 1934, a bronze statue of a dog called Hachiko was erected at the Shibuya Train station in Tokyo, Japan. The story of this dog is mentioned below. Hachiko was born in 1923 and was owned by Eisaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. The professor used to take a train from the Shibuya Station every day to go to the university. Each day Hachiko accompanied the professor to the train station when he left for work. Upon returning, the professor would find the dog patiently waiting for his master and wagging its tail. This happy routine continued until one fateful day in 1925, when the professor was taken ill on the job and unfortunately died before he could return home. As usual, the dog waited at the train station that day for his master to return back. However, seeing that he wasn't coming back, Hachiko waited till night fell and retuned back home. The next day Hachiko went back to the train station again, waiting for his master to come back. He patiently waited till sunset and then retuned back home. The dog was so devoted to the professor that he continued to visit the train station everyday for the next 10 years! The

people who passed the loyal dog each day were so touched by his story that they erected a statue in his honor in 1934. In 1935, Hachiko died at the very same spot where he used to wait for his master.

Dear readers, we should take a lesson from this story for ourselves. By reciting the kalimah of Tawheed, all of us have taken an oath to be loyal to our Master, Allah Ta'ala. Now, we should look deep into ourselves and check to see how much love we really have for Allah in our hearts.