The Story Teller

Archive for March, 2010

One night, a young man brought home a new lamp. He put it on the table by the window where he kept his other lamps.

New and full of oil, the new lamp considered himself superior over the other older lamps. He bragged about his shiny new glass and polished can full of fresh oil. All through the night, he showed off his bright light which he said brighter than the brightest star in the sky.

Then morning came. When the majestic sun proudly showered everyone with brightness and warmth, the little new lamp showed off even more..

“Hey there, Mr. Sun! Nice to meet you. I can see you just woke up. Hahaha! Too bad you had to rest while I shone brightly all night long..”

The wind, who had been listening all these time have had enough. She blew real hard that the window curtain swayed violently and accidentally knocked the proud little lamp off the table and down to the floor breaking his shiny glass into pieces and spilling the little oil left in his polished little can.

Adapted from Aesop’s fables

Retold by the blog author

Photos courtesy of sebastian-koenig, flickr.com

In a magical kingdom far, far away, there lived a couple, the king and queen, who had no child. They were so sad that a kind fairy took pity on them and promised to give them a daughter but regrets that she was not powerful enough to give the child a heart. The king and queen were so happy that they didn’t mind what the fairy said.

One day, she got lost in the forest and found herself by a magical pond. This pond lets any person see what is inside her. And the princess was surprised to discover that inside her chest was a vacant space. She has no heart.

The princess was humbled by her discovery. Shamed by her deformity, she began to care for the lame, the blind, the deaf and mute, the children and even the elderly. She learned to give, to help, to listen and to understand.

Then one day, she got lost again and found herself by the same magical pond. Scared to look, she began to walk away, but caught a glimpse of something red and beating inside her chest. She has a heart.

And that is the story of the heartless princess who earned a heart through love and compassion.

Adapted from the internet

Retold by the blog author

photos courtesy of clipartof.com, search.acclaimimages.com, clker.com, parenting.leehansen.com

How do you like to travel by train with the Atlantic Ocean over your head?

Well, try the ‘Chunnel’ (channel and tunnel), a 31-mile long tunnel that links England to other countries in Europe.

It was built under the English Channel (part of the Atlantic Ocean) 330 feet below the water’s surface.

It took 8 years, 15 billion dollars and 10 thousand workers to make the 3 tunnels (2 for traveling, and 1 for emergency). Workers dug from both England and France and they met in the middle.

Isn’t that cool?

adapted from Scholastic Reading Skills Kit
photos borrowed from kinglyheirs.com and flickr.com

A rich man has grown sick and he believes that he’s not going to live any longer. So, he summoned his three sons and said..

“My sons, my time is near, but before I die, I want to leave our successful business to the smartest among you. So, here’s a challenge, I’m giving each of you P500. Buy something.. anything that could fill this room..”

So, away went his sons and the first to come back was the eldest who bought P500 worth of felled acacia tree. He cut it into small pieces and dragged them into the room. They filled half the space.

The second son bought P500 worth of cut grass and weeds from a gardener and gathered them into the room. They occupied three fourths of the space.

The youngest, who proved to be the smartest, bought a big fat candle worth P200. He turned off the light, placed the candle in the middle of the room and lighted the candle. The rich man’s eyes shone with pride as the light filled the whole room. Then he said..

“You are, indeed, smart my son. The business is yours…”

adapted from Journey
photos courtesy of: filipinasoul.com, gather.com, and flickr.com

For a Filipina who’s never been to America or London, I was surprised to learn that the London Bridge is in Arizona, USA.

To start with.. The London Bridge was built a thousand years ago so that the people can cross the Thames River or deliver some goods as fast as they can. Quite useful, huh!

But on 1962, it was discovered that ‘the London Bridge was falling down’ (ring a bell?), seriously, it was falling apart! So, the city officials decided to build a safer, newer bridge..

What happened to the bridge then? An entrepreneur from America, Robert Mc Culluch, bought it! And, guess what? He moved it to his place… in Lake Havasu City in Arizona. Well, wherever it is, wish I could see it some day!

Have a nice week, people!

photos courtesy of oldukphotos.com and www,flickr.com