He disappeared into the river and retrieved a golden axe, but the woodcutter said it was not his. He disappeared again and came back with a silver axe, but the woodcutter said that was not his either. The god disappeared into the water again and came back with an iron axe – the woodcutter smiled and said it was his.
The god was impressed with the woodcutter’s honesty and gifted him both the golden and silver axes.
Right beside her sto
od a tall green cactus covered with sharp thorns. The rose disliked growing next to him.
“Look at you,” she would laugh every morning. “You are covered in ugly spikes. No one could ever admire a plant like you.”
The cactus never replied angrily. He simply stayed silent and continued standing peacefully under the sun.
A small sunflower nearby once said, “Rose, beauty is not everything. The cactus has a kind heart.”
But the rose ignored the advice. Day after day, she mocked the cactus for his appearance, while he patiently listened without complaint.
As weeks passed, summer grew even hotter. The desert wind became dry and fierce. Soon, there was no rain at all. Tiny ponds disappeared, the soil cracked, and many plants began to suffer from thirst.
The rose slowly started losing her beauty. Her petals became weak and faded. The once-proud flower bent sadly toward the ground. She tried to stay strong, but each passing day made her weaker.
One afternoon, the rose noticed a sparrow flying down toward the cactus. The little bird gently pecked the cactus and drank fresh water stored inside him.
Surprised, the rose whispered, “You have water?”
“Yes,” replied the cactus kindly. “I store water inside me so I can survive the desert.”
The rose felt ashamed. After being cruel for so long, she hesitated before speaking again.
“Cactus… would you… share some water with me? I don’t want to die.”
The cactus smiled softly. “Of course. Helping someone is more important than holding onto hurt feelings.”
The sparrow carefully carried drops of water from the cactus to the rose every day. Slowly, the rose regained her strength. Her petals became fresh again, and life returned to her fading beauty.
But something inside the rose had changed too.
One evening, as the sun set over the desert in shades of orange and gold, the rose spoke gently to the cactus.
“I was wrong about you. I thought beauty was the most important thing, but you taught me that kindness and generosity are far more valuable.”
The cactus replied warmly, “True beauty is found inside the heart.”
From that day onward, the rose never mocked the cactus again. Instead, they became the best of friends, standing side by side through every season of the desert.
And whenever travelers crossed the sands, they would see not just a beautiful rose or a strong cactus — but a friendship that bloomed through kindness and understanding.
Asha was getting frustrated with life, so she asked her father what to do. He told her to bring an egg, two tea leaves, and a potato. He then boiled them. After 10 minutes, he asked Asha to peel the egg, peel the potato, and strain the leaves.
Her father explained, “Each item was placed into the same circumstance, boiling water. See how each responded differently? The egg was soft but is now hard. The potato was hard but is now soft. And the tea leaves, they changed the water itself.”
The father then asked, “When adversity calls, we respond in the same manner as they have. Now, are you an egg, a potato, or tea leaves?”
There was once a shepherd boy who got bored while watching sheep. He decided to play a trick and cried “wolf! wolf!”. The people who heard rushed over to help him. But they were disappointed when they saw no wolf and the boy laughing at them.
The next day, he did it again and people rushed to his aid only to be laughed at. On the third day, the boy saw a wolf devouring one of his sheep and cried for help. But the people who heard him thought it was another of the boy’s pranks. No one came to help him.
