It didn’t take me long.”

The teacher laughed and said, “Not so fast, young man. You must learn to walk before you can run.”

Philip’s first day at school passed all too quickly

And from then on he went to school every day

A YOUNG BOY’S STORY
OF HOW A STORM CAUGHT
HIM IN THE FOREST

When I was little, Mother sent me for mushrooms in the woods. I reached the woods, gathered some mushrooms, and was just about to go home when all at once it turned dark, began to thunder, and rain came down. I was scared stiff and took shelter under a big oak tree. Such bright lightning flashed that it hurt my eyes and I had to screw them up. Above my head something began to creak and crack and I felt a sudden blow on the head. I fell forward and lay there until the rain stopped.

When I came to, the whole forest was dripping water, the birds were singing, and sunlight was dancing in the trees. The big oak had broken up and smoke was rising from the stump. All around me were pieces of oak. My smock was all wet and clinging to my body I had a bump on my head and it ached a lot.

When I found my hat, I picked up the mushrooms and ran home. The house was deserted, so I took some bread from the table, climbed up on the stove, and fell asleep. When I awoke I could see that my mushrooms had already been fried and put on the table for tea.

I shouted down, “What are you eating without me for?”

And they said, “What are you sleeping for? Come and have your tea”

THE KING
AND THE SHIRT

Once a king fell gravely ill and gave an order that half his realm would go to whoever could cure him.

At that, all the wise men gathered to decide how to cure the king. Nobody knew. In the end, a wise man arrived to declare that the king could be cured on one condition.

“If a happy man can be found, the shirt taken from his back and put upon the king, the king will recover.“

So the king sent messengers all over his kingdom to find a happy man, yet none could be found. There was not one man who was content with everything. Whoever was rich was ill; whoever was healthy was poor; whoever was healthy and rich had a mean wife or wicked children. Everyone complained about something.

Late one night the king’s son was riding past a poor cottage when he heard someone say:

“Right, thank the Lord, I’ve done my stint, eaten my fill and can rest in peace. What else do I need?“

The prince was delighted to have found a happy man at last, and gave orders for the man’s shirt to be taken to the king. He would, of course, pay the man as much money as he wished. But when the envoys entered the cottage to take the man’s shirt, they found he was so poor he had no shirt upon his back at all.

TWO BROTHERS LEARN
A LESSON

Two brothers had been walking since first dawn and, by noon, were tired and dusty, so they lay down to rest in a woodland glade.

On awakening they were surprised to find a stone before them, with an inscription faint and ancient. After much pondering, these were the words they read:

Whosoever finds this Stone
Should follow the Sunrise into the Forest Depths.
Within the Forest is a Stream
Which he must cross. On the Far Bank will he a
Mother Bear with her Cubs.
He should take those Cubs
From their Mother and run
To a distant Hill
Without a backward Glance.
Upon that Hill stands a Castle,
And within that Castle
He will find Good Fortune.

For a time the brothers were silent, unable to make up their minds. Then the younger brother boldly exclaimed:

“Come on, Brother, let’s go together. Should the fates be kind, we may swim the stream, take the cubs to the castle, and strike it rich.”

But his brother reproached him.

“I certainly shall not go into the forest for bear cubs, and I advise you against it, too. How do we know the words are true? And even if they are and we enter the forest, night will fall before long and we’ll lose our way Even if we found the stream, how would we cross it? Even if we were to cross it, how would we take the cubs from their mother? And another thing: even if we were to take the cubs, we could hardly reach the hill without a rest. Nor does the Stone tell us what is the good fortune awaiting us at the castle. Perhaps we have no need of it!“

But the younger brother said:

“We’ve nothing to lose by trying. Anyway, if we don’t try our luck, someone else may come along, find the Stone, and take the prize. If you really want something you’ve to work hard for it. Nothing ventured nothing gained.”

“Be content with what you’ve got,” said the other.