Tina, the Lost Bird

Ma. Criselda G. Ocang

Once upon a time, there was bird named Tina who
was lost in the forest.
Dino, a boy scout, saw her shed tears. He asked her,
“Why are you crying little bird?”
“I don‘t know my way back home.” answered Tina.
Dino took Tina on his palm and they both looked for
Tina‘s home-nest. On a leafy tree, they found her home.
They become friends from then on.

1. Who are the characters in the story?

2. Where did the story happen? When did the story happen?
What happened first in the story? What happened next?
3. What happened at the end of the story?

The Ant and the Grasshopper

In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about,

chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant passed by,
bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the
 Questions:
1. What attitude does the grasshopper possess? How about the
ants?
2. Why do you think that we need to focus first on our work
before playing or before doing anything else?
3. Why did the Grasshopper show up and humbly begged for a
bite to eat?
4. What do you think the Ant felt about the Grasshopper ?
5. If you were the Grasshopper, would you just play or do
nothing during your extra time? Why?
6. What lesson can you learn from the story?

Sam and Buster

 Sam is a small dog.
He is brown with
white spots. He also
has small ears and a
wet black nose. Sam
has a blue collar with
a red dog tag. He
likes to run in the
yard. Sam also likes
to hide his toys and chew bones. Sam knows lots of tricks.
He can sit, run and roll over. He is a happy dog and loves to
wag his tail!
Buster is a large dog. He is brown with white spots. Buster
has big ears! His nose is wet and black. Buster has a green
collar with an orange dog tag. Buster can run fast, but he
does not know a lot of tricks. He only knows how to sit.
Buster is a happy dog who loves to chew bones.
 The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
Aesop
Now you must know that a town mouse once upon a time
went on a visit to his cousin in the country. He was rough and
ready, this cousin, but he loved his town friend and made him
heartily welcome. Beans and bacon, cheese and bread, were all
he had to offer, but he offered them freely. The town mouse
rather turned up his long nose at this country fare, and said, "I
cannot understand, cousin, how you can put up with such poor
food as this, but of course you cannot expect anything better in
the country; come you with me and I will show you how to live.
When you have been in town a week you will wonder how you
could ever have stood a country life." No sooner said than done:
The two mice set off for the town and arrived at the town mouse's
residence late at night.

"You will want some refreshment after our long journey,"

said the polite town mouse, and took his friend into the grand
dining room. There they found the remains of a fine feast, and
soon the two mice were eating up jellies and cakes and all that
was nice. Suddenly they heard growling and barking.

"What is that?" said the country mouse.

"It is only the dogs of the house," answered the other.

"Only," said the country mouse, "I do not like that music at
my dinner!" Just at that moment the door flew open; in came two
huge mastiffs; and the two mice had to scamper down and run
off.

"Good-bye, cousin," said the country mouse.

"What! Going so soon?" said the other.

"Yes," he replied. "Better beans and bacon in peace than

cakes and ale in fear."
 Miguel Beats the Rain
Jidy N. Onesa

Miguel was walking his way home. He noticed the sky was
filled with dark clouds. When drizzle started to pour, Miguel
started running as fast as he could.

The rain started pouring very heavily. Miguel got home

safely.

The next morning, Miguel saw something on the road. The

road where he ran from yesterday was covered with mountains
of mud. There was a landslide because of the heavy rain.

―Thank God I beat the rain yesterday! Miguel said.

 The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Once, there was a boy who became bored when he watched

over the village sheep grazing on the hillside. To entertain himself,
he sang out, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is chasing the sheep!”

When the villagers heard the cry, they came running up the hill
to drive the wolf away. But, when they arrived, they saw no wolf.
The boy was amused when seeing their angry faces.

“Don’t scream wolf, boy,” warned the villagers, “when there is

no wolf!” They angrily went back down the hill.

Later, the shepherd boy cried out once again, “Wolf! Wolf! The
wolf is chasing the sheep!” To his amusement, he looked on as the
villagers came running up the hill to scare the wolf away.

As they saw there was no wolf, they said strictly, “Save your
frightened cry for when there really is a wolf! Don’t cry ‘wolf’ when
there is no wolf!” But the boy grinned at their words while they
walked grumbling down the hill once more.

Later, the boy saw a real wolf sneaking around his flock.
Alarmed, he jumped on his feet and cried out as loud as he could,
“Wolf! Wolf!” But the villagers thought he was fooling them again,
and so they didn’t come to help.

The Golden Touch

 There once was a king named Midas who did a good deed for a
Satyr. And he was then granted a wish by Dionysus, the god of wine.

For his wish, Midas asked that whatever he touched would turn
to gold. Despite Dionysus’ efforts to prevent it, Midas pleaded that
this was a fantastic wish, and so, it was bestowed.

Excited about his newly-earned powers, Midas started touching

all kinds of things, turning each item into pure gold.

But soon, Midas became hungry. As he picked up a piece of

food, he found he couldn’t eat it. It had turned to gold in his hand.

Hungry, Midas groaned, “I’ll starve! Perhaps this was not such
an excellent wish after all!”

Seeing his dismay, Midas’ beloved daughter threw her arms

around him to comfort him, and she, too, turned to gold. “The
golden touch is no blessing,” Midas cried.

Greed will always lead to downfall.

The Fox and the Grapes

 One day, a fox became very hungry as he went to search for
some food. He searched high and low, but couldn’t find something
that he could eat.

Finally, as his stomach rumbled, he stumbled upon a farmer’s

wall. At the top of the wall, he saw the biggest, juiciest grapes he’d
ever seen. They had a rich, purple color, telling the fox they were
ready to be eaten.

To reach the grapes, the fox had to jump high in the air. As he
jumped, he opened his mouth to catch the grapes, but he missed.
The fox tried again but missed yet again.

He tried a few more times but kept failing.

Finally, the fox decided it was time to give up and go home.

While he walked away, he muttered, “I’m sure the grapes were sour
anyway.”

Never despise what we can’t have; nothing comes easy.

The Proud Rose

 Once upon a time, in a desert far away, there was a rose who
was so proud of her beautiful looks. Her only complaint was growing
next to an ugly cactus.

Every day, the beautiful rose would insult and mock the cactus
on his looks, all while the cactus remained quiet. All the other plants
nearby tried to make the rose see sense, but she was too swayed by
her own looks.

One scorching summer, the desert became dry, and there was
no water left for the plants. The rose quickly began to wilt. Her
beautiful petals dried up, losing their lush color.

Looking to the cactus, she saw a sparrow dip his beak into the
cactus to drink some water. Though ashamed, the rose asked the
cactus if she could have some water. The kind cactus readily
agreed, helping them both through the tough summer, as friends.

Never judge anyone by the way they look.

The Milkmaid and her Pail

 One day, Molly the milkmaid had filled her pails with milk. Her
job was to milk the cows, and then bring the milk to the market to
sell. Molly loved to think about what to spend her money on.

As she filled the pails with milk and went to market, she again
thought of all the things she wanted to buy. As she walked along the
road, she thought of buying a cake and a basket full of fresh
strawberries.

A little further down the road, she spotted a chicken. She

thought, “With the money I get from today, I’m going to buy a
chicken of my own. That chicken will lay eggs, then I will be able to
sell milk and eggs and get more money!”

She continued, “With more money, I will be able to buy a fancy

dress and make all the other milkmaids jealous.” Out of excitement,
Molly started skipping, forgetting about the milk in her pails. Soon,
the milk started spilling over the edges, covering Molly.

Drenched, Molly said to herself, “Oh no! I will never have

enough money to buy a chicken now.” She went home with her
empty pails.

“Oh, my goodness! What happened to you?” Molly’s mother

asked.

“I was too busy dreaming about all the things I wanted to buy
that I forgot about the pails,” she answered.

“Oh, Molly, my dear. How many times do I need to say, ‘Don’t

count your chickens until they hatch?’”

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

The Wise Old Owl

 There was an old owl who lived in an oak tree. Every day, he
observed incidents that occurred around him.

Yesterday, he watched as a young boy helped an old man carry

a heavy basket. Today, he saw a young girl shouting at her mother.
The more he saw, the less he spoke.

As the days went on, he spoke less but heard more. The old
owl heard people talking and telling stories.

He heard a woman saying an elephant jumped over a fence.

He heard a man saying that he had never made a mistake.

The old owl had seen and heard what happened to people.
There were some who became better, some who became worse. But
the old owl in the tree had become wiser, each and every day.

Be more observant. Talk less and listen more. This will make us wise

The Golden Egg

Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid one golden
egg every day. The egg provided enough money for the farmer and
his wife to support their daily needs. The farmer and his wife
continued to be happy for a long time.

But, one day, the farmer thought to himself, “Why should we

take just one egg a day? Why can’t we take them all at once and
make a lot of money?” The farmer told his wife his idea, and she
foolishly agreed.

Then, the next day, as the goose laid its golden egg, the
farmer was quick with a sharp knife. He killed the goose and cut its
stomach open, in the hopes of finding all its golden eggs. But, as he
opened the stomach, the only thing he found was guts and blood.

The farmer quickly realized his foolish mistake and proceeded

to cry over his lost resource. As the days went on, the farmer and
his wife became poorer and poorer. How jinxed and how foolish they
were.

Never act before you think.

The Farmer and the Well

One day, a farmer was looking for a water source for his farm,
when he bought a well from his neighbor. The neighbor, however,
was cunning. The next day, as the farmer came to draw water from
his well, the neighbor refused to let him take any water.

When the farmer asked why, the neighbor replied, “I sold you
the well, not the water,” and walked away. Distraught, the farmer
went to the emperor to ask for justice. He explained what had
happened.

The emperor called on Birbal, one of his nine, and wisest,

courtiers. Birbal proceeded to question the neighbor, “Why don’t
you let the farmer take water from the well? You did sell the well to
the farmer?”

The neighbor replied, “Birbal, I did sell the well to the farmer
but not the water within it. He has no right to draw water from the
well.”

Birbal said, “Look, since you sold the well, you have no right to
keep the water in the farmer’s well. Either you pay rent to the
farmer, or take it out immediately.” Realizing that his scheme had
failed, the neighbor apologized and went home.

Cheating will not get you anything. If you cheat, you’ll pay soon enough.