01_Too Big for the Game
There is a little hippo who lives in the forest. This little hippo is much, much bigger than any of the other little animals.
The little frogs are hopping in the grass and catching bugs. The little hippo comes and wants to join them. “No, you’re too big for the game! You will mess up the grass and scare away the bugs,” say the little frogs.
The funny little monkeys are swinging on the jungle vines. The little hippo comes and wants to join them. “No, you’re too big for the game! You will break the vines,” say the little monkeys.
The little foxes are playing hide-and-seek behind the trees. The little hippo comes and wants to join them. “No, you’re too big for the game! You’re too big to hide behind the tree. It won’t be fun if everyone can see you,” say the little foxes.
The little tigers are making a narrow, secret trail through the jungle. The little hippo comes and wants to join them. “No, you’re too big for the game! You’ll make the trail big and wide, and it won’t be a secret anymore,” say the little tigers.
The little hippo is very sad now. “There’s just no game that is the right size for me,” he sighs. He walks back to the little pond. When he gets there, all the other animals are down there for a nice swim.
“But we can’t swim!” say all the animals. “It never rains. The water is too low even for wading!” When the little hippo hears that, he stops being sad and smiles. Then down at the pond he goes into the water, and his fat little body makes the water rise up, and up, and up. “There!” the little hippo says. “Now you can all come in.”
“Hurray! We can swim now!” cheer all the animals and in they splash.
Everyone is riding on the little hippo’s back, and playing all kinds of water games. What a good time they are all having!
From then on, everyone likes to play with the little hippo. So when the little hippo comes to join their games, they don’t say, “You are too big for the game!” Instead, they want to start a new one – one that fits him.
02_Winnie the Witch and Minnie the Cat
Winnie the witch lived with Minnie the cat in the forest. One day, Minnie the cat was tired of being a cat. She wanted to be something else. And she knew Winnie the witch could help. So Minnie the cat asked Winnie the witch if she could be something else. “What do you want to be?” said Winnie the witch.
“I want to be a fisherman, so I can catch lots of fish. You know I love fish,” said Minnie the cat. So Winnie the witch waved her magic wand once and Abracadabra! Minnie was not a cat. She was a fisherman. So she went fishing.
A few days later, Minnie the fisherman came back to Winnie the witch. “I don’t want to be a fisherman,” said Minnie the fisherman.
“Why? Why not a fisherman? Didn’t you catch lots of fish like you wished?” said Winnie the witch.
“No, the fish were afraid of me. They all swam away when they saw me, and I didn’t catch any fish,” said Minnie the fisherman, “I want to be a teacher.”
“A teacher? Why a teacher?” said Winnie the witch.
“I like to play with kids, and I want to teach boys and girls just like the way you teach me,” said Minnie the fisherman. So Winnie the witch waved her magic wand and Abracadabra! Now Minnie was a teacher. So she went to school.
A few days later, Minnie the teacher came back to Winnie the witch.
“I don’t want to be a teacher,” said Minnie the teacher.
“Why? Why not a teacher? Didn’t you enjoy teaching?” said Winnie the witch.
“No, the kids are terrible. No one listened to me. And the bully issue is huge there,” said Minnie the teacher.
Winnie the witch looked at Minnie the teacher and said, “So what do you want to be this time? You can be anything you want.”
“I thought and thought. There is only one thing I want to be,” said Minnie the teacher.
“What’s that?” said Winnie the witch.
“I want to be the way I was, Minnie the cat,” said Minnie the teacher. “And always stay with you.” So Winnie the witch waved her magic wand and Abracadabra!
Minnie is a cat once more. And she loves being a cat.
03_Sam the Cat Went to School
Sam was a big gray cat. He liked to play with a little boy, named Jimmy. Little Jimmy went to kindergarten. Sam wished he could go to school with Jimmy. He wished that every day. But Jimmy always said “no” to him.
One day, Sam finally followed Jimmy down the hill and went to school. Sam thought he was big enough to be in the sixth grade. So up the stairs he went, and peeped into those big classrooms. But the sixth grade teacher closed the door before he could take a good look. Then he went to the fifth grade classroom, but the fifth grade teacher said, “Oh, no, there’s a cat in the school. Someone should put him outside.”
Sam ran away before he was caught. Sam felt sad and went down the stairs. He walked along the hallway until he came to the kindergarten room, where the door was left open. The room was not big. He could see Jimmy with some other kids. And then the teacher came over to the door, smiled and said, “Whose cat is it?”
“He’s mine,” said Jimmy. “I am sorry. I keep telling him not to come to school!” Jimmy was afraid that his teacher might put Sam outside.
“But he did,” the teacher smiled, “and we are glad to have him, but just this once.” Jimmy was excited and so were the other kids.
They gave Sam some milk and cookies. Sam watched everything the kids did: painting, reading, writing, singing, and playing games. When they spelled cat, C-A-T, Sam listened carefully, and learned to spell cat, too.
Sam also played with everyone on the playground. They played on the slide, the swings, and the see-saw. Everyone liked to watch Sam climbing and jumping.
The school bell rang while Sam was having a great time with the kids. Sam said good-bye to all the children he met today. He made lots of friends at school. And then Sam went home with Jimmy.
Sam loved being in the school, and he thought he would like to go to school again.
04_The Wind and the Sun
A long time ago, the wind and the sun were arguing about who is better and stronger. “People like me more than you,” said the sun. “Look! It’s a sunny day. People enjoy it when I come out in the sky.”
“You should know that people don’t like it when you show off too much. They like me when I give them a little wind and cool down the heat,” said the wind. The wind and the sun couldn’t stop arguing.
“You should know I’m very strong. I can melt the snow and make the water disappear.” said the sun.
“Ah, yes,” said the wind. “But I can blow leaves from the trees, and I can make clouds move across the sky!” While they were arguing, a man came along. He was wearing a cloak and walking along the road.
The sun had an idea and said, “Well then, let’s have a contest and see who’s stronger.”
“Sure, but how?” said the wind.
“Okay, here is the rule,” said the sun. “Whoever can get that cloak off the man will be the strongest.”
“No problem!” So the wind and the sun started the contest.
“I will let you go first,” said the sun.
“I am going to blow that man’s cloak away,” said the wind. “Then you will see that I am stronger than you.” The wind blew and blew. But the man only pulled his cloak tighter around himself. The wind couldn’t make the man take off his cloak.
The sun came and said, “Now it is my turn. I will show you how strong I am.” The sun smiled and began to shine down from the sky. As the man walked along, the weather became warmer and warmer. After a while, the man felt very hot. He stopped walking and took off his cloak.
“Watch and learn, my friend,” said the sun to the wind. “As you can see, I am much stronger than you!”
“Yes, you won,” said the wind. “You are stronger than me.” The sun smiled and it was a sunny day. People love sunny days.
Sometimes kindness is more powerful than force.
05_No Pain, No Gain
Long ago, there was a lazy rice farmer. He didn’t like to work all day on his farm. One day, after he had worked for a little while in the hot sun, he went to take a break underneath a shade of the tree not far from his rice paddies.
While he was leaning against the tree trunk, closing his eyes to rest, suddenly he was disturbed by a loud thump! A rabbit had crashed into the tree on which he was resting.
A wild animal had been chasing the rabbit, and the rabbit died from the impact with the tree. The farmer was thrilled at his unexpected fortune. He picked up the rabbit and took it home, even though there was work for him in the rice paddies.
He cleaned the rabbit and cooked the meat for supper. Then he took the rabbit skin to the market and sold it for a good price. The farmer was very happy. He thought to himself, “Hmm, if I can find a rabbit every day, I will not only have delicious rabbit meat to eat, I will also have more money than I can make working as a farmer in the hot sun!”
The next day, the lazy farmer didn’t work in his rice paddies. He sat under the same tree and waited for another rabbit to come. He waited and waited. He waited for days. He waited for weeks. But no rabbit came crashing into the tree.
From then on, he waited under the tree every day. He completely ignored his farm work.
Eventually, his paddies grew full of weeds. When his friends finally talked him into going back to work, he was still full of hope, saying, “If I can get a rabbit every day, it is much more comfortable than working in the hot sun.”
He came home with nothing everyday, and soon he ran out of food and they had nothing to eat.
In the end, he had nothing—neither a rabbit nor a grain of rice from his rice paddies.
06_Goats in the Garden
Jason has three hungry goats. He feeds the goats and walks them to a hill full of grass every day. “Baa! Baa! Baa! Chew and nibble. Nibble and chew. We like to eat the whole day through,” says the goats.
One morning, Jason walks behind the goats. The goats are hungry. They run ahead and into Farmer Lee’s garden. “Oh, no! Farmer Lee’s fence is broken!” cries Jason.
“Those flowers look good. Let’s eat them!” says the goats.
“Get out! Get out now! If Farmer Lee sees you, he’ll send you to the zoo,” yells Jason. Jason runs around and around. But the goats keep pulling flowers out of the ground. Jason can’t make them stop. He begins to cry. Then the dog comes by.
“What’s wrong, Jason?” asks the dog. “My goats are eating Farmer Lee’s flowers. I can’t get my goats out of his garden. He’ll be mad when he sees them,” says Jason.
“I’m clever. Let me try!” says the dog. He runs behind the goats and barks. He runs in front of the goats and shouts. But the goats won’t leave the garden.
The dog sits next to Jason and starts to cry. Just then, the cat comes by.
“Why are you crying, Jason?” asks the cat. “I can’t get my goats out of Farmer Lee’s garden. He’ll be mad when he sees them,” says Jason.
“I bark and shout. But they would not stop eating,” says the dog.
“I can run fast and jump high. Let me try!” says the cat. The cat hops behind the goats and shouts. He jumps in front of the goats. But the goats won’t leave the garden.
The cat sits next to the dog, and Jason starts to cry. Just then, the bee comes by. “What’s going on?” asks the bee. “The goats are eating Farmer Lee’s flowers. We couldn’t stop him,” says the dog, the cat, and Jason.
“I can make the goats stop eating. Let me try!” says the bee. “But, Bee, you are so small. How can you do it?” says Jason.
“Just wait and see,” says the bee, and she flies from goat to goat. She flies inside their ears and wiggles her wings. Then she gives a loud buzz.
“Help! Help! Get us out of here!” the goats yell, and they stop eating and quickly run out of the garden. Jason, the dog, and the cat are very pleased with the bee.
Sometimes a little one could be a big help.
07_Why the Sun Comes up When the Rooster Crows
Long ago, there wasn’t just one sun. There were nine. The earth grew hotter and hotter. The plants and people started to die. It was too hot to live with the nine suns in the sky.
People decided to ask their best archer to shoot the suns out of the sky. The archer climbed to the top of the mountain. He shot the suns one by one until there was one sun left in the sky. The sun hid behind a mountain. She was too scared to come out.
People were happy it was not hot anymore. But few days later, they found out they couldn’t live without the sun. The world was freezing cold now. Nothing would grow. They called out to the hiding sun, but no matter what they said, she wouldn’t come out.
“We must find someone who can call the sun out. We mean no harm,” said some people.
“Tiger is a powerful animal. He would be helpful,” a few people suggested.
So the tiger came to help. But his voice was so loud and scared the sun even more.
“Perhaps we need an animal that has a soothing voice. Why not ask Oriole? No one sings better than her,” someone suggested.
So Oriole came to help. She sang her sweetest song. But still the sun wouldn’t come out. Many other birds tried, but none worked out.
At last, someone suggested Rooster. So Rooster came to help. He stood on the top of the mountain and crowed, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” The sun was still too scared to come out. Rooster crowed the second time, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
The sun peeked out behind the mountain. She was still afraid that she would be shot with an arrow. When Rooster crowed the third time, the sun thought it was safe and came out in her full glory.
People cheered. The sun was very happy by the way people welcome her. To thank Rooster, the sun took a bit of red out of the morning sky, and put it on top of Rooster’s head.