I
A traveler was caught in a storm and took shelter in a cave.
In the darkness of the cave he saw a snake. He froze fearing for his life and
remained motionless the rest of the night. In the morning light the man saw
that it was actually a rope.
II
A man was rowing his boat up a river when he saw another
boat coming downriver very fast. He screamed at the other boat, “Move to the
side. I have the right of way.” He kept screaming but the other boat kept
coming downstream. The man grew very angry. Finally, as the boats were about to
collide, the man decided to save himself and moved his boat to the side. As the
other boat passed he realized that there was nobody in it. The boat had become
loose from its dock and floated downstream.
III
There was a man who had a son that he loved more than
anything in the world. One day he left his village to work. While he was gone,
bandits attacked the village. They burnt many of the buildings and killed many
of the villagers. They captured the man’s son and led him off. When the man
returned to his village and saw what had happened he was inconsolable. He
sifted through the ashes until he found the body of a child which he thought
was his son. He gave that body a proper funeral and cremation and carried a
little of the ashes in a special locket around his neck. Meanwhile his son
became a slave of the bandits. After many years he was able to escape and
return to his village. He came to his father’s house and knocked on the door.
His father asked, “Who are you?”
“I am your son” his son tried to explain. “No” said the
father, “my son died many years ago.” And he turned the boy away.
IV
A brother woke up before his sister. He decided to wake her
up so that she did not miss breakfast. He said, “Sister, it is time to wake
up.” She responded rudely, “Get out of here I am sleeping!” She was only rude
because she was still partly asleep and did not know what she was saying. Her
brother understood this and did not get upset, because he was fully awake
