Only monks can know!

Hi Kids!

You've not heard from me for a couple of days now. Here's something cute for you:

Enjoy reading!

Uncle N

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A man is driving down the road and breaks down near a monastery. He goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says, My car broke down. Do you think I could stay the night?

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The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, and even fix his car.

As the man tries to fall > > asleep, he hears a strange sound. The next morning, he asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, We can't tell you. You're not a monk.

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The man is disappointed but thanks them anyway and goes about his merry way. Some yea! rs later, the same man breaks down in front of the same monastery.

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The monks gain accept him, feed him, and even fix his car.

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That night, he hears the same strange noise that he had heard years earlier.

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The next morning, he asks what it is, but the monks reply, We can't tell you. You're not a monk.

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The man says, All right, all right. I'm dying to know. If the only way I can find out what that sound was, is to become a monk, how do I become a monk?

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The monks reply, You must travel the earth and tell us how many blades of grass there are and the exact number of sand pebbles.
When you find these numbers, you will become a monk.

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The man sets about his task. Some forty-five years later, he returns and knocks on the door of the monastery. He says, I have traveled the earth and have found what you have asked for. There are
145,236,284,232 blades of grass and 231,281,219,999,129,382 sand pebbles on the earth.

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The monks reply, Congratulations. You are now a monk. We shall now show you the way to the sound.

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The monks lead the man to a wooden door, where the head monk says, The sound is right behind that door.

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Th! e man reaches for the knob, but the door is locked. He says, Real funny. May I have the key?

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The monks give him the key, and he opens the door.

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Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone. The man demands the key to the stone door.

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The monks give him the key, and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby. He demands another key from the monks, who provide it. Behind that door is another door, this one made of sapphire. So it went until the man had gone through doors of emerald,....

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.......silver, topaz, and amethyst.

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Finally, the monks say, This is the last key to the last door.

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The man is relieved to no end. He unlocks the door, turns the knob,
and behind that door he is amazed to find the source of that
strange sound.

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. . . . But I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk

ps: Pl don't try to chase me all over, because I'm still chasing the guy who sent me this mail!!!

Uncle N

The Pious Tiger

The Wily Tiger

Here is a story of a tricky tiger.

Once upon a time, a wily tiger was too old to catch his prey. But he was quite hungry and did not know what to do. He thought and thought, and got a nice idea:

He killed an elderly woman who was passing by, and kept her golden bangle after eating her.

The next day, he kept calling loudly, "Oh friends! Come and take this gold bangle. I've started doing tapas and want to donate all my worldly belongings!"

A traveler heard this call, so he approached the tiger and asked from a distance, "Where is the gold bangle?"

The old wily tiger showed the gold bangle in his paws. The traveler said he dared not come near him who used to be a man-eater......

Then the wily old tiger preached him a sermon as follows, "In my younger days I used to kill and eat human beings because I was not fortunate enough to listen to the Dharma. As I grew older and lost my wife and children. I really felt sorry for all the bad things that I did. Around that time I happened to meet with a noble Swamiji who taught me to live a virtuous life and to start doing only good things. Since then I have been living a strictly righteous life. You have nothing to be afraid of. I am harmless. See, I don't even have claws and fangs. I have resolved to give this gold bangle to someone as charity, and you are the lucky one. Go bathe in the lake and come accept my gift."

Believing these persuasive words, the traveler did what he was told. When he stepped into the lake he sank into the swamp. Saying that he would help him, the tiger came and killed the traveler and ate him up!

Moral of the story: There will be lots of people who will be preaching things - Don't listen to all of that - Believe only in what trustworthy people like your parents, teachers, etc. say and don't blindly listen to strangers!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Inviting more readers to this blog

Hi friends,

I've just sent a bunch of invitations to some of my close friends and relatives to enable them to view this blog.

Hope you like the contents of this blog. Do get back to me at the earliest:

Awaiting your valuable

• feedback
• suggestions
• stories
• bouquets
• brickbats
• puzzles
• contributions
• jokes
• comments
• queries
• doubts
• inputs

etc. to add value to this blog!

If you feel that any other person should have access to this blog at this stage, do send me his/her name and email ID to enable me to invite them.

Uncle N

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The Bad Lion and the Wise Deer

The Bad Lion and the Wise Deer

(While I've known this story from the time I was a young child, I happened to see this piece in the net attributed to one Mr. Jem Lim)

Once there lived a hungry, bad lion who ruled a far-away jungle. He scared the animals in the forest and ordered them to bring him food everyday. In return, he promised he would not kill any one of them and would keep all animals safe from his clutches. The smaller and helpless jungle animals had no choice but to agree.

One day, a young deer went to the lion's den to give his offering. The young deer brought the lion a huge meat enough for a feast. The bad lion was still not satisfied that he craved for more. The bad lion wanted to taste the deer's meat and eat him whole. The wise young deer thought of better ways to escape from the bad lion. He said that on his way to the bad lion's den, he met another mighty lion.

"Not far from here, I met a mighty lion and he claimed to be the King! And this mighty lion said he wants to meet you my lord!" the deer said.

The furious bad lion said, "So do I! I want to know the impostor!"

The young deer took the bad lion to a river and said, "Meet the mighty lion, my lord." The angry bad lion immediately jumped to the river attacking its reflection.

The bad lion didn't know that the water was deep and got drowned.

The young deer ended the rule of the bad lion in the jungle.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Answer - For the problem of Birbal and the one-eyed "Bad man"

Answer - For the problem of Birbal and the one-eyed "Bad man"

Calmly, Birbal stated, "I am ready for that, if you believe that I will not be burnt, but the same should apply to you also. If you aren't lying, the hot iron should not burn your hands either. So, you can kindly bring that red hot iron, holding it in both of your hands, and then give it to me to hold it."

The speechless man quickly told the judge he would search in his house again, bowed, left, and never lied against Birbal again.

Answer - For the question of the clean stuff that is black and dirty when it is white: "Black Board"

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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The dhobi, his dog and the donkey

The dhobi, his dog and the donkey

Once upon a time, there lived a dhobi (A man who washes other people's clothes for earning his livelihood) in a village. He had a donkey and a dog as his pets. The dog guarded his master's house and accompanied him wherever he went. The donkey used to carry the load of clothes. The dhobi loved his dog very much. And the dog, whenever, he saw his master, would bark a little and wag his tail. He would raise his front legs and put them on the chest of his master. And the dhobi would pat his dog in return, for his loving gesture.

This made the donkey jealous of the dog's fate. He cursed his iII-fate; 'What a bad luck I've. My master doesn't love me in spite of my putting in hard labour. Now, I must do what this dog does to please my master.'

So, the next time, when he saw his master coming, he ran towards him. He brayed a little and tried to wag his tail. He raised his front legs and put them on his master's body.

The dhobi got frightened to see his donkey's abnormal behaviour. He thought that the donkey might have gone crazy. So he picked up a lathi and beat up the donkey till it fell on the ground.

Hence, dear children, don't be jealous of other people and imitate them! You may end up with disappointment.

Watch out for Part II of the Dhobi, his dog and the donkey!!!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Tenali Raman Brings up a Cat!

Tenali Raman Brings up a Cat for Krishna Deva Raya!

Once in the city ruled by Krishna Deva Raya, there came an epidemic due to rats. The situation was similar to the case of "Pied Piper of Hamelin". Rats were everywhere. They were eating all the books belonging to children. They started making holes in wooden shelves. Sometimes they even nibbled the ears of little girls. But there was no Pied Piper to save the city.

Unfortunately, there were so many rats in the city but very few cats. So the king asked every house in the city to grow cats. But cats need milk to drink. Most of the houses did not have cows. So the king gave cows to every house and asked them to grow them too. All people were happy and used to give the cats a lot of milk to drink.

Except one - Tenali Raman.

He was not only a lazy man, but also greedy enough to sell all the milk. Hence, the first day he boiled the milk and poured it in a pan. He gave the piping hot milk to the cat. The cat, which was hungry came and sipped the milk from the pan. Since the milk was hot it burnt its mouth. The cat ran away. The next day and the next Tenali Raman did the same thing. After a few days he stopped giving milk to the cat and started selling it off.

Tenali Raman's cat was lean and hungry and all other cats were stout and happy. One day the king wanted to see all the cats given by him and give prize to the best maintained cat. He was wild with Tenali Raman for not taking care of his cat properly. He asked him to explain the reason.

Then Tenali Raman told the king that he was not to be blamed, since his cat did not drink any milk. The king wanted to put Tenali Raman in Jail for telling a lie and wanted him to prove what he said.

Then Tenali Raman asked the King to give milk to the cat all by himself, as he did not believe Tenali's words. The king brought a nice small bowl of milk and kept it in front of the cat. On seeing the milk, the cat immediately started screaming and screeching and ran away. The king pitied Tenali Raman and not only let him away, but also gave him another cat and an extra cow to give milk for the new cat!

The clever Tenali Raman lived happily forever after!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Birbal and the one-eyed man who wanted to punish him!

Emperor Akbar once ruled over India. He was a wise and intelligent ruler, and he had in his court the Nine Gems, his nine advisors, who were each known for a particular skill. One of these Gems was Birbal, known for his wit and wisdom. The story below is one of the examples of his wit. Do you have it in you to find out the answer?

One day, a dishonest, one-eyed man wanted to punish Birbal. He accused him of stealing his 24 karat gold necklace and reported this theft to the police. The case was brought to the high court where the judge knew Birbal very well, and he also knew that he was not a thief. So, he asked the man, "What makes you think that Birbal stole your necklace?"

"Your Honor, with my own one eye, I saw him stealing the necklace," the man swiftly replied. Then he stated, "If he is innocent, let him prove it. Allow me to bring a hot iron, and if he can hold it in his bare hands, then I will be satisfied that he didn't take my necklace and isn't lying to me."

A confused Birbal said, "You mean that if I'm telling the truth, I will not burn my hands with that red hot iron?"

"Of course not! God will then protect you," the man strongly declared in front of a nodding crowd.

It would seem as if Birbal couldn't do anything but hold the red hot iron which would undoubtedly burn him whether he was telling the truth or lying. However, he came up with another one of his witty replies on the spot.

Can you guess what he said?

Wait for the answer till a couple of days later!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Power of Faith

POWER OF FAITH

The fields were parched and brown from lack of rain, and the crops lay wilting from thirst. People were anxious and irritable as they searched the sky for any sign of relief. Days turned into arid weeks. No rain came.

The Sanyasin in the nearby temple called for an hour of prayer on the lawns the following Friday. He requested that everyone come for the prayer with full faith.

At appointed time, all the people turned out en masse, filling the temple lawns with anxious faces and hopeful hearts.

When the prayer had gone on for around an hour, as if on magical command, rain began to fall. Cheers swept the crowd as they hurried towards the interior parts of the temple to protect themselves from the rain.

Except for a single child ..., who picked up her umbrella that she had brought along!

The Sanyasin said, "This rain is not because of all our prayers - It is because of the faith of that single little child"!

Hence, my dear children, whatever you may do, make sure that you have full faith and belief in what you are trying to do. Your self-confidence will ensure that you succeed in your endeavour!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Question for the day

What is white when it's dirty and black when it's clean?

I'll give you the answer after a few days!

Uncle N

Tenali Raman and the strong race horse!

This time, I'm giving you an old Tenali Raman story for you.

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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The famous King Sri Krishnadeva Raya used to get strange wishes from time to time. Once, the king wanted all his ministers to grow horses to see who brings up the best horse. He called all his ministers and gave them one horse each to bring up. He also gave them lot of money to buy the best grass so that the horses can eat well and become healthy race horses. He also announced a prize for the minister whose horse is the strongest after a year.

All ministers were happy to do the job, except Tenaliraman. He tied his horse in a dark room and daily in the morning gave it very little grass - The rest of the money was used for his own personal requirements. His wife was very angry and said "It is too bad"

After one full year, the king wanted to see all the horses. All of them brought their horses. They were indeed very strong. But King noticed that Tenaliraman had not brought his horse. He asked him why he has not brought his horse. Tenaliraman replied that his horse was very strong and he could not bring it. The king was surprised. He said , I will send my guard to your house tomorrow.

Next day the guard went to Tenali Raman's house. He had a beard, which was very long. Tenali Raman took him to the room where the house was kept locked. He asked him to see through the window. The inspector peeped in through the narrow window and his beard entered the room first. The horse thought that it was straw. It caught the beard of the guard and started pulling. The inspector was crying in pain. The Guard lost his beard and ran to the king.

He told the king that Tenaliraman's horse was very strong. King Krishnadeva Raya gave Tenali Raman the prize money of a sack full of gold coins!

Pandit Sevaram

Birbal Stories are quite popular among Indian kids - Here's one for you!

Happy reading!

Uncle N

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Pandit Sevaram

One day a Brahmin by the name of Sevaram asked Birbal for help. He said that his forefathers were great Sanskrit scholars and that people used to respectfully refer to them as Panditji. He said that he had no money nor need for wealth, he was content living a simple life. But he had just one wish. He wished people would refer to him as Panditji too. He asked Birbal how he could achieve this.

Birbal said that the task was fairly simple. If the Brahmin followed his advice word for word, this task could be achieved. Birbal advised the Brahmin to shout at anyone who would call him Panditji from now on.

Now the children who lived on the same street as the Brahmin did not like him since he scolded them often. They were just waiting for an opportunity to get back at him. Birbal told the children that the Brahmin would get really irritated if they would start calling him Panditji. The children started calling him Panditji and the Brahmin as advised by Birbal started shouting at them. The children spread the word to all the other children in the neighborhood that Sevaram hated being called Panditji, so they in turn all started calling him Panditji. After a while, Sevaram got tired of scolding them but everyone already was used to calling him Panditji. Hence the game was over but the name stuck.

THE DAFFODIL PRINCIPLE

Got this from a dear friend. Thought of sharing it with all of you!

Regards,

Uncle N

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THE DAFFODIL PRINCIPLE Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren. "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand - lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed. Carolyn led the way down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped.

Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.

The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain."

The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.

The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time-and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting..... Until your car or home is paid off Until you get a new car or home Until your kids leave the house Until you go back to school Until you finish school Until you clean the house Until you organize the garage Until you clean off your desk Until you lose 10 lbs. Until you gain 10 lbs. Until you get married Until you get a divorce Until you have kids Until the kids go to school Until you retire Until summer Until spring Until winter Until fall Until you die...

The place to be happy is HERE and the time to be happy is NOW. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching.

The Story of the deaf frog

Once upon a time, a group of 20 young frogs decided to select their leader. They went to a group of wise old frogs and asked the oldest of them to choose the next Youth leader. The old frog pointed towards the nearby palm tree and said that it will decide the next leader depending on who climbs that palm tree first.

All frogs started trying to climb the really tall tree, one by one.

All the old frogs started shouting:

"You can't climb so high"

"You'll fall down"

"The tree is too tall"

One by one, most of the young frogs started giving up hope and came down without reaching the top.

Except for one little frog, which went on and on and on.

Finally, it reached the top successfully. When it came down after reaching the top, the wise old frog congratulated the young one and declared him to be the leader. And he asked the young leader, "How did you manage to climb the tall tree so successfully"?

The frog's mother clarified - "The little leader is actually deaf - He could not hear any of those discouraging words from all the old frogs - That's why he succeeded".

The wise old frog said: "Friends, remember this lesson well - When you are discouraged by others that you can't achieve your goal, you must be deaf like this young frog. By ignoring all those negative words, you will be able to achieve your goals, howsoever difficult they may be"!

Regards,

Uncle N