Two short stories with LIFE Lessons to reflect upon as one walks the spiritual path to grow in wisdom and compassion.

1. Story To Reflect Upon 29
The Donkey In The Well
by Unknown Author
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal
cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to
do. Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to
be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the
donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all
grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first,
the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then,
to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads
later, the farmer finally looked down the well, and was astonished
at what he saw.
With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing
something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As
the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the
animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon,
everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of
the well and trotted off!
Reflections
* In life, when trouble or predicament sets in, one has to
think out a solution and work it out. A non-action or passive
state can bring about disastrous consequences.
* Crying over a problem is not a wise course of action; what
we do about the problem is the important thing.

2. Story To A Little Mouse
Reflect Story
Upon 30
A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his
wife opening a package. What food might it contain?
He was aghast to discover that it was a mouse trap. Retreating to the
farmyard the mouse proclaimed the warning:
"There is a mouse trap in the house, a mouse trap in the house!"
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse
me, Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no
consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
The mouse then told the pig, "There is a mouse trap in the house.”
"I am very sorry Mr. Mouse," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing
I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow. She said, "You say, Mr. Mouse, a mouse
trap? I am NOT in grave danger. You are! It’s your business.
So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the
farmer's mouse trap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound
of a mouse trap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she
did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
She returned home with a fever.
The farmer killed the chicken to make chicken soup for the wife.
His wife's sickness continued. Friends and neighbors came to visit. To
feed them, the farmer butchered the pig to prepare lunch.
The farmer's wife did not get well. A few days later she passed away.
So many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow
slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.
Reflections
* We are all interconnected and interdependent. What happens to
others or the environment can have a bearing on us.
* Working as a team to resolve a problem is important.
* Apathy, selfishness, self-centredness and cold-heartedness are
negative traits and can bring negative effects to the ones with
these traits.
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