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JAI SRI RAM

GOODNIGHT STORIES

Compiled by S.Geethapriya Price Rs. 22.00 Published by

Sri Aanjineyaa Pathippagam


1849, P.K.N ROAD, MUTHU CYCLE COMPLEX, BYE PASS ROAD, SIVAKASI-626 189 CELL : 90034 - 58722

CONTENTS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. The Hiccup Mouse The Lonely Traffic Light The Two Caterpillars Niblet the Mouse Miri and the Gardener The Curious Ladybug The Teddy Bear 5 13 20 32 35 41 50 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

CONTENTS
An Ordinary Mother Ellen The Eagle Needs Glasses When the Clock Got Sick The Rabbit... Swan and the Owl The Windflower's Story The Frogs and the Fairies 56 64 71 77 83 85 92

1. The Hiccup Mouse

when she just wasn't expecting it.

Once there was a little mouse named Lucy. She lived in the meadow with her mother and father, and her little brother Harvey. She and Harvey got along very well. They played in the fields, went swimming in the summer, climbed trees, and even had tea parties together. Lucy thought that Harvey was just about the most perfect brother she could have, except for one thingher had a way of sneaking up on her

Why only this morning he had startled her so badly that she had spilled her juice all over the table. Mother had been upset and so had she. In fact, she had been so upset it had given her hiccups and now she couldn't get rid of them! She had tried drinking water, and holding her breath but the Hiccups just wouldn't go away. No matter how hard she tried to get rid of them every few seconds a giant HIC-CUP would

out of her little self. Maybe my friends will know what to do, she thought.

Hiccups will fall out" she suggested. "That's what I always do and it works great for me. Toodle Loo!" and she dashed off without another word. So Lucy stood on her head and waited for a very long time. It was very difficult because with every Hiccup she would lose her balance and have to start all over again. While she was doing this Frog hopped up.

First she went to Skunk's house. "Hello -HICSkunk" she said. "Hello. How are you today?" Skunk replied. "I'm -HIC- fine" said Lucy "but -HIC- I have -HIC- the hiccups -HIC- and I can't get -HIC- rid of them!" I noticed" said Skunk. "Perhaps if you stand on your head the "What are you doing Lucy?" he asked. Lucy started to tell him but suddenly a really huge Hiccup came out, and Frog said "Oh my, it

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seems standing on your head has given you the Hiccups. You should try hopping on one foot while patting your tummy" he offered helpfully. "Thank -HIC- you" she said, but when she looked up Frog had already hopped off towards the pond.

But no matter how hard she hopped and patted, the Hiccups wouldn't go away. "Oh no!" she said as she began to walk home. "Perhaps I will have Hiccups for the rest of my life. I will be known as the Hiccup Mouse. Maybe I will never be able to go into the library again, the Librarian will surely tell me I am too noisy to be there! And I can forget about ever playing Hide-nSeek, because everyone will find me!" By now, she was so busy feeling miserable that she hardly noticed where she was going.

Hopping on one foot and patting her tummy sounded silly to Lucy but the Hiccups were getting worse and she was willing to try anything if it would make them go away.

Just then Harvey jumped out of the berry bushes beside the path holding a large, juicy berry. "Lucy look what I found!" he exclaimed. But Lucy was tired of being surprised by her little brother and she'd had enough.

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gave him a gigantic hug. "Thank you! You cured me of those horrible Hiccups!" she cried. Then she and Harvey went off "Harvey, how many times have I told you not to share that delicious berry.

to" she started to say. Then she stopped and a


huge smile spread across her face.

She realized that her Hiccups were gone! Harvey had surprised her so much that the Hiccups had disappeared. "Oh, Harvey" she said and then she threw her arms around him and

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2. The Lonely Traffic Light


Once upon a time, there was a traffic light a lonely traffic light. She felt that nobody gave her much attention. Sometimes people would stand by her and push the button for the light to change, and she felt less lonely while they were waiting. But once the light changed the people would leave and cross the street.

At times, when the light was red, the people waiting in the cars would give her their attention as they waited for the light to turn green. That also made her less lonely, but not for long. Once the light turned green the cars would zoom by without noticing that she existed.

Then, the traffic light noticed that there was a little red car that passed by early every morning and again every afternoon. It was a mother and two little kids dropping off their Daddy at the train station in the morning and picking him up in the afternoon.

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Sometimes when the light was red, the two kids would wave to the traffic light, show her their stuffed animals, or stare at her waiting for the light to change. That made her very happy. At other times when the light was green the car would go right through the intersection and the little kids wouldn't even look at the light. That made her very sad. The traffic light wanted the attention of the two little children and decided that the next time she saw the car she would turn herself red. That would give the kids a chance to wave to her or stare at her. She thought the idea sounded very nice, so that is what she did the next morning and afternoon when she saw the red car. After a few days of switching herself, the circuit inside of her pole got messed up and the light stayed on yellow. She tried very hard to switch it to red or green but she just couldn't. The next morning, the repairmen came and opened the little door on the side of her pole. They worked for a couple of hours and found the problem. The switch that she used to turn the light from red to yellow to green had burnt out.

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In a few minutes they had replaced the bad switch and the traffic light was back to normal. Now she was again able to stop the red car and see the little children every morning and afternoon. But after a few days the switch burnt out again and the repairmen had to come out to fix it once more.

getting too old and that it was really hard for all of the people, because it was making traffic jams when she broke down. When she looked up she saw a huge line of cars all waiting and honking. All of the people in them were very upset because they couldn't get where they needed to go. It was then that the traffic light realized how important she was to all of the people in their cars. She had always thought that they were simply ignoring her when they drove away, but now she knew that without her no one would be able to

As they were working, the traffic light could hear them talking to each other. She heard them saying that the traffic light must be

drive anywhere. Then she felt very bad that she had caused all of these problems. The traffic light did not want to make people unhappy, so she decided that from now on she

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would only switch herself from green to red when it was the proper time so that her switch

3. The Two Caterpillars


Once upon a time there were two caterpillars, a brother and a sister, who lived together way up on the top of a big oak tree. The two caterpillars loved each other very much. They played together, ate together, and watched out for each other.

wouldn't burn out too soon. She thought of how happy it made people when she was working properly, and she knew that she would still see the kids every day, even if it was for only a few seconds. That made her VERY happy, and from that day on she was never lonely again.

One day, while they were munching on a nice delicious green leaf, a strong breeze blew them off the tree and they both landed on the ground.

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They looked up and saw how far their little home was, all the way up in the top of the tree. "Oh, no" said Cater "it will take us forever to make it back home." Pillar sighed and then she said "You're right, but we will just have to keep going until we make it, otherwise we will never get home." So they started climbing the tree. They were a bit surprised because the part they were climbing was smooth and gray, not at all like the rough brown part up at the top of the tree where their home was. But since they had never been to the bottom of the tree they thought that this was just how it was. They had only climbed a few inches however, when the tree started to move!

"Wow, the tree is moving now" said Pillar sounding a bit worried. "Look!" Cater said pointing up "This isn't the tree that we're climbing. It's the foot of Elephant!" When Pillar looked up she saw two giant elephant eyes looking straight at her.

The elephant said "Why are you tickling my leg you little caterpillars?"

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By now Cater and Pillar were very afraid, but they explained to the elephant how the big wind had blown them out of the tree and they had thought his leg was the bottom of the tree where their home was. The elephant was very kind even though he looked very frightening to the little caterpillars and he felt very sorry for them being stuck on the ground so he decided to help them. He put his long trunk down next to them and told them to climb on. Then he carried them up to the top of the tree by stretching his long trunk way up high. The caterpillars were thrilled to be home again and they both shouted at exactly the same time "Thank you Elephant! You saved us a lot of work climbing back up this big tree."

The kind elephant waived his long trunk at the two caterpillars and went happily on his way.

The two caterpillars continued to live in the top of the tree and to take care of each other, but soon it was time for them to make their cocoons and turn into beautiful butterflies. Cater and Pillar said goodbye to each other and promised that who ever came out first would stay and wait for the other one. Then they spun their cocoons and sealed themselves inside. While they were in their cocoons, another big

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came and blew them off their branch and far away. But this time they did not land next to each other. Cater landed near the river and Pillar landed near the field. When they came out of their cocoons the caterpillars could not find each other. They looked this way and that but they couldn't even see their home. Each caterpillar, now a beautiful butterfly, was alone in the middle of the great big world. "Where is Cater?" Pillar said when she came out. "Where is Pillar?" Cater thought when he came out. So the two butterflies decided to look for each other. As he flew off Cater looked down at himself and realized that he had turned into a butterfly with a yellow body and yellow and black spotted wings. He didn't look anything like the little green caterpillar he had been before he closed himself up in the cocoon. He landed on a nearby leaf and sat there wondering how he was going to find Pillar since he didn't even know what she looked like any more either. All his life he had known her as a little green caterpillar too. "This is not going to be easy" Cater thought to himself, "How can I search for my sister

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butterfly when I don't know what to look for?" But Cater knew that he had to find her somehow, so he flew up into the air and began to look around for his sister. Each time he saw another butterfly he would rush over and ask, "Are you Pillar?" But each time the answer was "No" so he kept looking. He must have asked one hundred butterflies this question, but none of them were his sister. Everyone wanted to help and they all asked what she looked like but Cater could not tell them because he didn't know. All he knew was that her name was Pillar and that she was his sweet sister. By now Pillar was just as worried. She had also realized that since she had turned into a butterfly with purple and red wings and blue

spots, her brother must look different too. She knew that he must have changed just as much and she would never be able to recognize him. How was she going to find him? How? How?

Pillar also began to look for Cater by flying around and calling his name as loudly as she could. Suddenly she had a great idea and she started to ask all of the other insects she saw to help her find her brother by calling his name too. Before she knew it there were hundreds of insects flying around calling her brother's name. The air was full of bugs saying ''Cater".

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Before long Cater heard someone calling his name and rushed see who it might be. He followed the sound of his name until he reached a big fat green praying mantis. Cater was very disappointed to see that it was not his sister, and he asked the praying mantis why he was calling his name. The praying mantis told him that a beautiful purple butterfly with blue spots was looking for her brother and had asked him to help.

Once Cater had calmed down he asked a praying mantis which direction his sister had gone. The helpful praying mantis pointed him in the right direction and Cater flew off as fast as his wings could carry him. Every time Cater passed an insect calling his name he would happily shout "That's me!" He was getting happier by the moment because he knew that he was going in the right direction and soon he would see Pillar again. Then, far away, he saw his sister. He started calling her name and flying to her as fast as he

Cater was so happy! He was close to finding his sister again and he could hardly believe that he would see her again.

could. Pillar heard her brother's voice and turned to see a beautiful butterfly with black and yellow spots heading towards her.

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In no time the two butterflies were back together again and they were laughing and playing as they flew off across the fields to search for their lovely home.

4. Niblet the Mouse

I am a mouse. My name is Niblet. I live in a little hole in a house. Living in the house is a man, a woman, a boy, and a girl. I like the two children a lot. They always leave crumbs behind and I get to eat them when everyone is asleep. They also have cool little toys. Some of the toys are good for my home so I borrow them and use them in my house. Last week I found a little chair, just big enough for me. It fits so nicely in my living room.

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The house is so quiet without them. I really miss all of the squeaks and noise they make. Kids are just like mice.

Today I found a little spoon. It is great for scooping up crumbs that are in cracks that I can't reach. I also have a little blanket that I found under the little boy's bed. It really isn't a blanket, it is an old shirt from his little teddy bear. He doesn't need it anymore because he got his bear a new shirt and the old one makes a perfect blanket for me. I miss the kids when they go to school in the morning. I love the family I live with, and I hope they never find out about me. People are scared of mice and try to get rid of them if they find us in their house. That's why I need to be so quiet. Shhhhhh!

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5. Miri and the Gardener

The magician healer was very upset. He had never encountered any such sickness before. He

searched the memory books left by previous magician-healers to no avail unfortunately. The sun shines on the magic forest. It also shines on a giant oak tree, many centuries old. Its in this tree that Miris family lives. Miri is a young Fairy, shes very small, barely a few centimeters (A couple of inches) like all the fairies of her race. Miri loves that tree with the many cavities sculpted with art and dedication. But with the respect for the survival of the living tree, of course. The problem is that poor Miri is suffering from a mysterious illness. The little fairy, courageously continued to believe, in spite of her suffering, that she would heal. Winter was long for little Miri who, from her bed entertained her friends. She could not stand sorrow so she kept her morale up. With spring came a hope, as fragile as the eggs in the nest. The healer had discovered a cure. But it was the powder that rests on the wings of butterflies. Hundreds maybe even thousands of butterflies, would be needed to harvest sufficient quantities for the medicine for Miri.

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Miris father was at the inn with his friend. He was discussing the problem of which no one seemed to know the solution. It was a sad day for Miris father. A stranger seated them at a neighboring as the table, custom

The honest tone and truthful gaze in the eyes of the gardener convinced Miris father to give him a chance. He had nothing to loose and Miri all to win... From her window, Miri looked at the gardener work, an old man with the precise movements acquired along a lifetime dedicated to the love of plants. The gardener planted lilac trees in many shades. He even planted unknown plants, bushes and flowers with strange, mysterious names that brings visions of exotic places. The old man told Miri that soon, he assured her, it would translate into a symphony of colors and textures that will perfume the air. He had such a pleasurable expression as he said it, that Miri was certain HE could smell it already.

approached

discreetly

prescribes. He told Miris father; I think I can help heal your daughter. Stranger, if you can accomplish that, Ill give you everything you want I have no need for everything, all I need is work. Are you a healer? No a gardener, if you hire me I guarantee that your daughter will be healed by the end of summer."

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Miri observed as the young sprout escaped the soil, as the tender green shoots grew. Soon flower buds appeared followed by the most beautiful blooms. The gossipers were having a good time. Shameful, he buys himself a garden while his daughter, poor girl, lay sick and all. Shameful, I tell you. Then one warm day, attracted by the selected flowers butterflies came, more and more of them kept coming to invade the garden. The gardener installed a lawn chairs in the clearing and installed Miri comfortably in it. Miri received a shower of the powder falling from the wings of the butterflies.

The powder was of many colors shining in the sun. The rays of the sun reflected in the fine powder. The clearing was bathed in the light and in that light Miris healing In a week Miri was cured. Her delicate wings shone brightly again. Her face had regained her healthy colors and above all her smile was resplendent. And this is how Miri got her name: MIRI THE BUTTERFLY FAIRY

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6. The Curious Ladybug


Once upon a time, a cheerful ladybug was in the park hopping from one flower to another and enjoying the nice sunny day. The ladybug was a very curious, and liked to check out anything new. The ladybug flew across the road to look at the row of homes across from the park. Each home had a little yard with plenty of flowers. Her favorite flowers were the red roses and so she went to the yard that had the most. "Mmmmmm" she went as she started munching. "Such beautiful and delicious roses" she thought. While she was enjoying herself and hopping from on red rose to another, she noticed the front door opening and a man leaving the house.

He left the door cracked open as he gathered his things, so the ladybug flew in. On her way in she almost bumped into a woman who was heading out. The woman walked out the door and slammed it shut. Oops, the ladybug was stuck inside! The ladybug didn't care at first. She wanted to look around and explore. She flew into the bedroom, it was tidy and nice. She then flew to the bathroom and found it very boring so she left right away. Then she flew into the kitchen where she nibbled on some crumbs she found on the table. She also licked a spot of maple syrup she found on the table. Now that the ladybug had seen everything she was ready to leave.

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But how could she when all the doors and windows were closed. So the ladybug decided to wait until the people came home so that she could fly out the crack again as they came in. She waited, and waited until she got tired of waiting and got hungry too. She decided to fly back to the kitchen to take another lick of the maple syrup on the table. "Yum" she thought as she slurped up some maple syrup, "Mmmm". But just then the man and woman came home and shut the door behind them. The ladybug had missed her chance. She would have to try again the next day, she though as she hid under the lampshade in the living room, right next to the door.

The man and woman went to bed and the ladybug fell asleep under the lampshade. She was so tired and it had been a long day. She was sleeping very deeply, having lovely ladybug dreams, when she heard the door opening and closing. "What

happened?" she thought, " How could I have missed them again?" It seems she was so tired that she didn't even hear them wake up, get dressed, and head out to work. "Why do they have to leave for work so early?" thought the ladybug. "Now I'll probably never make it out" then she flew off to the kitchen to eat some more of the left over crumbs that she found. She found some muffin crumbs that tasted very good and was lucky enough to find a small drop of orange juice that she licked up

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happily. "That was a really great breakfast" she said to herself, "but now I need to concentrate on finding out how to get out of this place and get back 47 home. My family must be worried about me by now." he might sit on her and squish her. She needed She looked everywhere. She be was hoping someplace to around hide where she wouldn't seen, but there was a cracked window or a hole the wall, she also needed it to be something that in the man or but she couldn't She tried to left squeeze woman would takefind withany. them when they the under the door, but there just wasn't enough room. house. She just to wait.again! Then she had noticed the man's hat. This time she would notplace," go toshe the kitchen, she "That would be a perfect thought. would rest or sleep either. She way would just "I can not hide inside the hat, all the inside. waitand she did, for a long, time. Buthard the man Hopefully he won't shove his long hat on really and and hisme." wife did not go back home right away after squish work. she Instead they to go part out for dinner, Then crawled todecided the topmost of the hat they stayed out late. and waited till the morning. In the morning the couple got dressed and went to work, but the man left his hat! The man and woman walked out but the hat stayedwith the ladybug inside! Poor ladybug.

The ladybug waited till it was very dark and she was so tired. She gave up on them coming back and fell asleep. At about midnight the couple came back home. 48 The ladybug up on the his door slamming shut saw The manwoke had forgotten hat and when he and noticed the andhe the woman walking in. Then she it. waited thatman he did returned to the house to get The until they went to bed and asleep. she was just ladybug was still inside itfell although The ladybug decided not to wait until the morning about to get out. to do something. want to fall The man took theShe hat did and not gently placed it asleep on his again miss them leaving the relief. morning. She had head. and The ladybug sighed in with Then she thought of hiding in the was woman's purse, realized something. How she going to but get the out purseunder was closed shut and she get in. from the hat unless the was man unable took itto off? Thenladybug she thought of the man's wallet, but she The sure wasn't ready to wait any longer. feared that whenwaited he putfor his two wallet in his pants She had already days to go back to her family and she wanted to go to them now. So, the ladybug jumped on the man's bald head and started tickling him on his scalp. The man felt his head starting to tickle and took his hat

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off to itch it. At that very moment the ladybug was ready and she flew out to freedom. "Free at last" she cried! And then she flew back home to her very worried family.

7. The Teddy Bear


Once upon a time, there was a little boy, his name was Ben. On his first birthday, his parents got him a soft cuddly brown teddy bear. The little baby boy carried his teddy bear with him every where he went. At night the teddy bear always got to sleep next to the baby boy in his crib. Ben grew up and got his own bedroom and a big bed to sleep in. The teddy bear got to sleep next to him in bed every night. He was his favorite toy. Ben took his teddy bear everywhere he went. The teddy bear went with the boy to the zoo, all the parks in the area, and even to school.

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Ben became a teenager and he got more and more interested in video games, and going out with his friends. He stopped taking his teddy bear with him, which made the bear a little bit sad. Still, he would put his teddy bear next to him in bed every night. Then Ben started going camping with his friends. He would spend a few nights at a time at camp. The teddy bear missed his friend a lot on those days. When Ben was back from camping he would still remember his favorite toy and bring it to bed with him. Ben graduated from high school and had to go to a university in the big city. The boy was now a young man.

He would come back home a couple of times every year for just a few days. Mom took all of Ben's toys and put them in a big box in the attic. But, the teddy bear was always special so Mom decided to put him on one of the empty shelves so that when Ben was back home to visit he could see his favorite bear. Ben's visits were too short and he spent most of his time visiting with his old friends, neighbors, and family. He would go to bed late at night, and often forgot to put the bear in bed anymore. The bear was so sad and missed the nice old days when he got to sleep every night next to Ben in his bed. Ben, now a young man, graduated from the university and got a job in the big city. He had his own place there and would only come to visit

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for a few hours on the weekends. Some weekends the teddy bear would not even get to see his friend. The teddy bear was so lonely. Many nights, he would sit alone crying in the dark, and dreaming of the days when he went everywhere with his friend and slept every night next to him. He always hoped that his friend would come to take him back to the big city, but it never happened. Ben met a very nice woman who worked with him and they both liked each other. They decided to get married, and after a year they had a little baby boy of their own. They loved their baby a lot and often brought him over to his grandparents' house. The baby boy was just as cute as his father had been when he was a baby.

One day Ben remembered his favorite teddy bear and thought that his own little baby would love to have it. He ran to his old room, went straight to the shelf and grabbed his old friend the teddy bear. The bear was thrilled that his old friend had come to visit him, but could not imagine the nice surprise that awaited him. When Ben gave his old bear to his baby boy to play with, the baby was so happy he wouldn't leave it alone for the rest of the day. At the end of the day, Ben and his family said goodbye to his parents and went to their own cozy home. This time the teddy bear came with them. That night, and every night after that, the teddy bear got to sleep next to the baby boy in his crib.

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Just like his father, the baby boy would take the teddy bear with him every where he went. The teddy bear was so happy. Now he had a new family that loved him. His old friend and his new family loved him just as much as they possibly could.

8. An Ordinary Mother

Katrina Katrinka was like any other ordinary mother with two kids, a station wagon, and a 60 foot tall crane in her back yard. The crane just showed up one morning. A construction company was building an apartment building down the street. One day the company went bankrupt, and left their crane in Mrs. Katrinka's back yard. They just went bankrupt, and left her with a 60 foot tall crane in her back yard. Mrs. Katrinka didn't know what to do at first. But then she had an idea. She called the sanitation department in her town to come around and pick up the 60 foot tall crane.

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If you have an old couch, an old table, an old refrigerator, or an old washing machine, you can call the sanitation department, and they'll come around and pick it up. You can guess what the sanitation department had to say about Mrs. Katrinka's crane. "Sorry, ma'am. We don't pick up 60 foot tall cranes. Old couches, old tables, old refrigerators, and old washing machines are fine. Large, 60 foot tall cranes are not fine." Mrs. Katrinka was not the type of ordinary mother who lets a 60 foot tall crane sit around in her back yard. No, sirree. Not that type of ordinary mother at all. So she bought a large wrench, and climbed up the tall 60 foot crane. She carefully climbed out

onto the horizontal part of the crane, and unbolted one of the end sections. She happily climbed down and carried the steel section into her basement. Her neighbors peered over the fence, wondering what on earth could this ordinary mother be doing with a steel section of crane in her basement. What the neighbors didn't know was that Mrs. Katrinka also bought an excellent power saw. This saw could cut through the toughest, hardest steel. Day after day, Mrs. Katrinka would take one more section from the crane, carrying it carefully down into her basement. And night after night, she cut those sections up into little bits. These little bits of steel were easy enough

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to hide in her regular trash. Some of the bits she stuffed in empty cans of tuna fish. Other bits she stuffed in the middle of overripe watermelons. And other bits she hid inside old smelly socks. But it's hard to hide a full 60 foot crane in your day to day trash. You could hide a 20 foot crane, or a 30 foot crane. But a 60 foot crane is just too big to easily hide in the trash. So Mrs. Katrinka started painting the sections of crane she took down each day. She painted them, and then welded them into interesting sorts of sculptures. When her basement became too full of sculptures, she set the sculptures out in her back yard.

It didn't take long for people to flock from all over the neighborhood to see Mrs. Katrinka's

sculptures. One day, one of her neighbors walked right up her front steps and asked if she might buy one of the sculptures. Well, Mrs. Katrinka didn't know what to say. She didn't make the sculptures to sell. She made the sculptures because it's hard to hide all the bits of a 60 foot crane in your trash. On the very day that she took down the last section of the crane, the man who used to own the construction company came back to pick up his crane. "Sorry, sir," Mrs. Katrinka said. "The crane you left in my back yard is no longer here anymore. It's hiding in empty cans of tuna fish, over-ripe watermelons, and old smelly

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socks. If you want to put it back together, you'll have to go looking through lots of empty tuna fish cans, over-ripe watermelons, and old socks." "Well, ma'am," said the construction company man. "I really shouldn't have left that 60 foot crane in your back yard. It wasn't the right thing to do, and I'd like to apologize to you." Mrs. Katrinka looked the man up and down. He looked as if he was genuinely sorry for what he had done. "Oh, all right," Mrs. Katrinka said. "If you'd like to take home some of the 60 foot crane you left in my back yard, it's sitting right over there in those six sculptures." "Six sculptures?" said the man, in wonder.

"Yes, six sculptures," replied Mrs. Katrinka. "Mrs. Olney down the street bought the seventh sculpture last week for $200." "Well, the least I can do is buy the other six sculptures, at the same price," the man whispered gently. "No. I'm sorry. That won't do," replied Mrs. Katrinka. "I can't sell all six of those sculptures. They mean too much to me now." "But I tell you what. If you want to buy five of them, I won't complain too loudly about that. You can't expect me to give up all my wonderful sculptures to some stranger who left a 60 foot crane in my back yard." "Yes, ma'am. It's too much to expect an

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ordinary mother to give up all six sculptures she made from a 60 foot tall crane that a total stranger left in her back yard." As Mrs. Katrinka took the man's money, she laughed, "Besides, I need to keep at least one sculpture to show my grandchildren. They'll never believe this story if I didn't have at least one of the sculptures left to show them..."

9. Ellen the Eagle Needs Glasses


Ellen the eagle first suspected that she needed glasses the day that she swooped down out of the sky and grabbed a small lawn chair to carry back to her hungry children. When she arrived back at her nest, perched high atop a cliff, her oldest son said, somewhat sarcastically, "Great. Another lawn chair for breakfast. Just what we need."

Her husband, Ed, was more forgiving. He gently picked up the lawn chair with his beak and moved it over to the flat, back section of the nest. Then he sat down in the lawn chair, folded his wings comfortably behind his head, and lay back.

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"Honey, you might want to go and have your eyes checked one of these days," Ed said. "It's easy enough to do, and only costs a mouse or two." "I've been meaning to get my eyes checked," replied Ellen, "but you know how it is. Every day it just seems that there are new mice to catch, new things to do for the nest, and new nature shows to be in." "True, the nature shows do put the dead mice on the table, but they take away from the hunting and stalking I really like to do." "I'll put it on my calendar as something to do next week. Although, I've got to say, I would feel a little self-conscious wearing glasses out in public. What would the other eagles say?"

"Honey, what other eagles think doesn't matter at all. It's more important that your eyesight be sharp and in focus. Anyway, these days they can fit you with contact lens that you hardly notice are even there." Ellen sighed. Maybe it was time for her to get her eyes checked. Could she really afford to keep bringing back lawn chairs for her hungry children? So the next day she flew over to the eagle optometrist to have her eyes checked. The optometrist sat her down in a comfortable chair and asked her to identify the small animals on the tiny chart two miles away. "Mouse, chipmunk, gopher, squirrel, rabbit," she said, trying to sound confident.

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"It was difficult telling the difference between a mouse and a chipmunk. The shapes of these two animals were so similar." "Okay, you did well on that line of animals," said the optometrist. "Now see if you can read the animals on the line below it." Ellen concentrated all her mental powers on trying to see what the animals were on the next line. She could barely make out what the small animals were, so she made her best guess, "Hippo, elephant, giraffe, and rhinoceros," she said in a voice that lacked confidence. "I'm sorry, but you missed a few animals on that line. Your eyesight is far below the normal 2000/2000 eyesight of regular eagles. I'm going to recommend you get glasses or contact lens."

"Can you tell me more about the contact lens?" inquired Ellen. "These days they have contact lens that are far more comfortable and far less bother than they were in the past," the optometrist explained. "And we happen to have a sale on them this week." "For three dead mice you can walk away with a pair of contact lens you can be proud of." "Three dead mice?" declared Ellen in a surprised voice. "I thought you could buy a decent pair of contact lens for two dead mice." "Well, it is true you could buy contact lens at other stores for two dead mice," replied the optometrist, "But they are inferior quality contact lens.

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If you bought the cheaper contact lens, you might not be able to read the numbers on a license plate that was two miles away." Ellen shuddered at the thought. Not being able to read the numbers on a license plate two miles away was a sure sign that an eagle's eyesight was fading. "I'll take the three dead mice contact lens," she said quickly. As she flew out of the store she said to herself, "So it costs me an extra dead mouse. What's an extra dead mouse when you need to buy something to help your eyesight?" Her husband Ed leaped out of the lawn chair when she landed on the nest. "Honey, you're back so soon. Did you get a new pair of glasses or contacts?"

"Sure did," Ellen replied with a renewed confidence in her voice. She hopped over to the back of the nest and casually nudged the lawn chair over the edge of the nest. "No more lawn chairs in this nest," she announced smugly. "Only dead mice, rabbits, and fish are going to show up here in the future." "Honey, I was just getting used to the lawn chair when you nudged it over the side of the nest. Do you think you could find me another lawn chair sometime?" "No more lawn chairs in this nest, ever," said Ellen. "Okay, Ed, it's time we flew off to find something for the kids to eat for dinner. There's no use in just sitting around in lawn chairs all day."

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10. When the Clock Got Sick


Once upon a time, in a land not too far from where you live, there was a bank whose outside clock was the talk of the town. Clocks usually don't cause people to talk about them, unless they're not working right. This clock wasn't working right at all. The clock was a digital clock, meaning that it was the kind of clock with large neon red numbers that glowed both day and night. You could read the clock from an entire block away. The clock sat prominently a few yards above the main doors to a respected bank, right on the corner of a major intersection in town. In some ways, the clock represented the very center of

town. One day, a few months ago, the time on the clock started slipping backwards a few minutes. At first this didn't cause any alarm. After all, if you are two minutes late, or two minutes early to an appointment, is there any harm done? But then the clock's health got even worse. Not only did the clock slip back more than a few minutes, sometimes it would actually jump forward an hour or two, and then jump back to being a few minutes late. It was clear to everyone in town that this was a sick clock. What do you do with a sick clock, though? Take it the clockerenarian? Take it a clockpital? Visit a clocktor?

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You're right. Healing a sick clock is not an easy thing to do. First you need to find what's wrong with the clock, and then you need to find a place that sells the particular part that needs replacing. The bank, being a respected bank, was eager to get the clock fixed and working again. The bank became even more eager after last month's birthday party. You see, a young child on the way to a birthday party burst into tears when he looked up at the clock and realized that he was going to be late. On that day, the clock was running about two hours fast, and the child was in perfect time for the party. The child just thought he was late, because who would ever doubt the time on a

public clock? And then there was the whole wedding fiasco last week. A groom, on the way to his wedding ceremony, noticed that he was two hours early, so he stopped off at the cybercafe to do some web surfing. When he showed up to the ceremony two hours late, the bride and everyone else were not overjoyed to see him. The straw that broke the camel's back, though, was last week when an army major was traveling through town. Being an army major, he would regularly adjust his wristwatch to make sure it was perfectly on time. When he saw the clock above the bank, he immediately reset his watch three hours ahead of time. And the next morning he woke his troops at 3 AM to do their

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regular 6 AM ten-mile morning run. The troops were not amused. And so they stopped by to pay a friendly visit to the bank manager. "Please, please, please repair the clock above the door of your bank," they spoke in military unison. "Each one of us would like to chip in $20 to repair the clock," they added. The bank manager, a kindly young woman, promised that she would do whatever she could to find a part to repair the clock. She would even take the clock to a clockerenarian, if need be. And she had not ruled out the possibility of driving the clock straight to the clockpital, herself.

Her own doctor had recommended some skilled clocktors that she could use when she received the replacement part. Until the clock was repaired, though, she decided to switch off its electricity. For three weeks the lights on the clock were entirely dark. And then one day a UPS truck drove up the bank with a very small package. Inside that very small package was a very small part that made the clock healthy again. The town sighed a huge sigh of relief when the clock was switched on again. And then everyone reset their watches and went on their merry way.

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11. The Rabbit...


One day Rabbit was taking a walk through the jungle and ran into Elephant, who was making a fine meal of the treetops. "Hello, brother," said Rabbit. "Fine day, isn't it?" Elephant paused to look down at the tiny little creature at his feet and snorted. "Leave me be, Rabbit. I don't have the time to waste on someone so small." Rabbit was shocked to be talked to in such a manner. He wasn't sure what to do so he left quietly to go and think about what had happened. As he walked along, he spied mighty Whale far out to sea and decided to ask her what she thought about Elephant's rudeness.

He cupped his tiny paws and yelled as loud as he could, "Whaaaaale!! Come heeeeere!!" Whale swam over to see who was calling her and looked about. After a few minutes she spied tiny little Rabbit jumping up and down on a cliff. "Rabbit," Whale said impatiently, "Did you just call me over here?" "Of course," said Rabbit. "Just who do you think you are? You are far too small and weak to have anything to say to me." And at that she turned, flipped her huge tail, and set off back into the deep ocean. But just then Rabbit had an idea. He called out to her one more time, "Whale! You think that I am weak, but in fact, I am stronger than you! You wouldn't be so quick to ignore me if I beat you at Tug-of-War."

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Whale looked at him for a moment before falling into a fit of laughter. "Very well little one," said Whale. "Go get a rope and we will see who is stronger." Rabbit ran off to gather up the strongest and thickest vine he could. When he found it, he went to Elephant and said to the giant animal, "Elephant, you had no cause to treat me with such discourtesy this afternoon. I shall have to prove to you that we are equals. Elephant looked down between chews and chuckled. "And how will you do that, small one?" Rabbit stood up as high as he could, looked Elephant right in the eye and said, "By beating you at a game of Tug-of-War." Elephant laughed so hard he nearly choked on his leaves, but agreed to humor the tiny animal.

He tied the vine around his huge, hefty waist, snickering the whole time. Rabbit took the other end and started off into the jungle. He called back to Elephant, "Wait until I say 'pull' and then pull with all of your might." Rabbit took the other end of the rope to Whale and said, "Tie this to your tail and when I say `pull' you swim with all of your might." Whale tied the vine to her tail, all the while smirking at Rabbit's foolishness. "I will now go and tie the other end to my own waist," said Rabbit, and hopped off into the jungle. Rabbit hid in the bushes and then called out, at the top of his lungs, "PULL!!"

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Elephant started to walk away with a smile on his face, but the smile soon turned to a look of surprise when the vine stopped following him. "My goodness," he said to himself, "Rabbit is much stronger than I expected!" The look of surprise soon became a frown as Elephant pulled harder and harder, unable to make the tough vine budge any further. Meanwhile, Whale began to swim away from the shore, but almost lost her breath when the vine pulled tight and refused to come with her. She pulled harder and harder, but she could not pull it any further. "That little Rabbit could not possibly be stronger than me," she said in outrage. Soon the vine could take no more strain and, with an earsplitting sound, snapped into

two pieces. When this happened, poor Elephant went sailing through the jungle and tumbled head over heels down a steep valley. The end that was tied to Whale caught up to her suddenly and she went sailing through the ocean and smashed into a very scratchy and very uncomfortable coral reef. Rabbit left without a word and never mentioned the matter again. Elephant and Whale were completely confused and never did figure out how such a tiny creature as Rabbit could have beaten the largest of the animals. And to this day, they are very careful to greet little Rabbit with great respect whenever they meet.

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12. Swan and the Owl

On reaching Lotus wood, it could not find the owl, which was hiding in the dark hole. The owl asked

Once upon a time there lived a swan who used to spend time in various playful activities on a lake. Once an owl visited him in the forest and requested him to be friends, after praising the swan a lot. The swan agreed to be friends with him and they used to spend time near the lake a lot of days. But the owl soon got bored of the place and told the swan, I am going back to my home in the Lotus wood, and if you ever want to visit me you can visit me there. The swan, after many days once decided to pay a visit to the owl in the Lotus wood.

the swan to take rest till daylight was over and told him that he could come out only at night. The swan decided to take rest. It so happened that a group of merchants were passing by the next day early morning. The merchants chanted some hymns, and to that the owl replied with a hoot. Thinking that this was a bad omen, the merchants then decided to shoot the owl down. But in the meantime the owl had fled and taken refuge in a nearby hole near the shore of the lake. But the swan did not move. The arrow from the merchants came and hit the swan and it was killed.

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13. The Windflower's Story


One day a little Windflower growing in a garden heard the Rosebush say to the Pansies, "What a quiet little creature the Windflower is! She seems to be a modest little thing, but she never stays here long enough to get

"Oh, how interesting." "What do you mean by a story?" asked the Rosebush. "Oh, I mean she is deep and knows things of which we little dream. There is something between her and the Wind, but I cannot learn her secret." Rosebush held up her head, the Pansies turned their little faces around and looked at the modest little Windflower to see if they could read her secret. "I have no secret the world cannot know," said the Windflower. "All my family love the Wind; this all the world would know if they knew our history." Rosebush and the Pansies and Hollyhock

acquainted; so I do not know whether she hides her ignorance by keeping quiet or is a deep thinker."

"I think she is deep, Miss Rose," said the Hollyhock, near by. "You know I can see farther than anyone here, and it is my opinion that the Windflower is deep, and I think, too, she has a story." "A story!" cried the Pansies, turning up their pretty faces to the Hollyhock.

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began to question the little Windflower, and this is what she told them: "Oh, a long, long time ago some beautiful goddess grieved very much over the death of some one she dearly loved, and she created in memory of this friend a beautiful flower which she named

Windflower. "But you are a small family, I think," said the Rosebush. "I have seen very few of your kind in our garden." "No, we are a numerous and beautiful family," said the Windflower. "Oh, how conceited she is!" said the Rosebush in a whisper to the Pansies. "Think of calling herself beautiful. For my part, I think her white and purple quite plain-looking." But in spite of the low voice of the Rose the little Windflower heard her. "Oh, you are quite mistaken if you think I feel I am beautiful!" she said. "It is of our family I speak; you should see some of my sisters; they are wonderful, purple

Anemone. That is our real name." "Oh, how grand is sounds!" said the Rosebush. "Such a big name, too, for such a little flower." "Yes, it is big," replied the little Windflower, "but you see we had nothing at all to do with our name; the Wind fell in love with us and opened our blossoms--that is the way we happened to be named, I am told." "Oh, how interesting!" said the Rosebush, beginning to look with envy upon the little

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and so silky they are beautiful. "And other sisters are a beautiful blue. Oh, I am by far the plainest of our family. But the Wind has no favorites; he takes us all along with him, though, of course, my sisters that grow in mountain pastures go oftener with the Wind than others." "Oh, here comes that horrid breeze!" said the Rosebush. "He always spoils everything." And she gathered her petals closer to her and leaned back among the leaves. When she opened her petals to look around the garden again the little Windflower was not there. "Why, where has the Windflower gone?" she asked.

"Oh, you missed it!" said the Pansies, nodding very knowingly. "That breeze came to tell the Windflower that the Wind would be along in a minute. We heard him, so we watched, and in a little while the Wind came and took the Windflower away with him. She went up high right over Hollyhock's head."

Hollyhock, who had been gazing about, lowered his head. "She is out of sight," he told the Rosebush and the Pansies. "The Wind came this morning and whispered to her, but I could not hear what he said; but she opened wide her blossom and nodded."

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"Now, what do you suppose there is between the Windflower and the Wind?" asked Rosebush. "Just what she told us," said Hollyhock. "He is in love with the Windflowers." 93 "I should prefer a more tender said lover," said "Oh, hear old grandfather croaking!" Billy Bull; Rosebush. "he never went out of this pond in all his days, and "I think him atdell?" times. The way he blows what does hequite know rude of the through our garden is better far from gentle." "Better stay home, stay home," croaked "Some like strong Grandfather Frog. lovers that can master them," said lifting his head very "You Hollyhock, can, Grandfather Frog, if and you standing like, but we straight. young frogs are going for a lark tonight, and when "I suppose so,"we sighed the you Rosebush; "but it isdell," just we come back will tell what is in the as I Billy have Bull. always said. You never can tellwas about the said That night when the moon up and quiet, ones. the Windflower shiningmodest through the Think trees,of out oflittle the pond leaped having such afroggies. story and flying away with the Wind. all the young My, my! What a world!" "Better stay home, better stay home," croaked Grandfather Frog from his seat on the stump, but the young froggies only laughed as grandfather's warning followed them through the dell--"Better stay home, better stay home."

14. The Frogs and the Fairies


In a pond in a dell lived a big family of frogs, and one day when the sun was shining all the young It happened that the Fairies were holding a party bullfrogs came up out of the water and hopped on that night, and when Billy Bull and all the other the bank. "I think it would be good fun to see what young frogs hopped and leaped into the middle of is in the dell beside this pond," said Billy Bull, who the dell they saw the bright lights of the fireflies' was a young and inquisitive frog. lanterns. "Looks to me like all the fireflies in the "What do you fellows say to a lark to-night by the world had gathered for us to feast on," said Billy light of the moon?" Bull. "What luck for us." "We'll go, we'll go, Billy Bull," said all the other Away off they could still hear Grandfather Frog young frogs in chorus. croaking his warning: "Better stay home, better "Better stay home, better stay home," croaked old stay home." But it was no warning to the young Grandfather Bullfrog from his seat on a stump by froggies; they only saw the fireflies and the feast the edge of the pond. in store for them. The froggies had never seen the Fairies before and they thought they, too, were little insects, so, without stopping to think or look closer into the midst of the Fairy revel, in leaped Billy Bull
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and all his cousins. But the Fairies were as quick as the frogs, and no sooner had they leaped than up went all the fairy wands, and there stood each frog still and stiff. They were not able to move; they could only stare and listen. "What are these creatures that dare to disturb us?" asked the Queen. "Your Majesty, they are frogs," said a fire-fly, "and I expect they intended to eat us." "Eat the lantern bearers of the fairies!" said the Queen. "They shall suffer for this." "Off with a toe on each front foot, and then perhaps these frogs will stay at home and not hop about at night. Where do they live?" asked the Queen. "In the pond at the end of the dell," said the fireflies. "Send them home," said the Queen,

"and every time they wander far from their pond they shall lose a toe." Down on the foot of the froggies went the fairy wands, and where the frogs had five toes there remained only four on each of their front feet, and then with their wands on the heads of the froggies the fairies turned them around and drove them back to their pond. "Better stayed home, better stayed home,"

croaked their Grandfather Frog as the young froggies leaped sadly into the pond and buried themselves in the mud at the bottom. And that was the way it is said frogs came to have five toes on each of their hind feet and only four toes on each front foot. If they had listened to their grandfather's warning they would still have their other toes.

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