Old Grandpa — Story

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in- law, and four-year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’ s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped, the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.

 

The son and daughter-in- law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about Grandfather, ” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather’ s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.

That evening the husband took Grandfather’ s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

Moral Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes ever observe, their ears ever listen, and their minds ever process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child’s future. Let’s be wise builders and role models. Because Children are our future. Life is about people connecting with people, and making a positive difference. Take care of yourself, … and those you love, … today, … and everyday!

Nobody is Perfect

A man and his girlfriend were married. It was large celebration. All of their friends and family came to see the lovely ceremony and to partake of the festivities and celebrations. A wonderful time was had by all. The bride was gorgeous in her white wedding gown and the groom was very dashing in his black tuxedo. Everyone could tell that the love they had for each other was true. A few months later, the wife comes to the husband with a proposal: "I read in a magazine, a while ago, about how we can strengthen our marriage." she offered. "Each of us will write a list of the things that we find a bit annoying with the other person. Then, we can talk about how we can fix them together and make our lives happier together."

The husband agreed. So each of them went to a separate room in the house and thought of the things that annoyed them about the other. They thought about this question for the rest of the day and wrote down what they came up with. The next morning, at the breakfast table, they decided that they would go over their lists. "I'll start," offered the wife. She took out her list. It had many items on it. Enough to fill 3 pages, in fact. As she started reading the list of the little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear in her husbands eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing" the husband replied, "keep reading your list." The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands over top of it.

"Now, you read your list and then we'll talk about the things on both of our lists." She said happily. Quietly the husband stated, "I don't have anything on my list. I think that you are perfect the way that you are. I don't want you to change anything for me. You are lovely and wonderful and I wouldn't want to try and change anything about you." The wife, touched by his honesty and the depth of his love for her and his acceptance of her, turned her head and wept.

IN LIFE, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed and annoyed. We don't really have to go looking for them.We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise. Why waste time in this world looking for the bad, disappointing or annoying things when we can look around us, and see the wondrous things before us?

I believe that WE ARE HAPPIEST WHEN we see and praise the good and try our best to forego the mistakes of our loved ones. Nobody is perfect but we can find perfection in them to change the way we see them. It is necessary to understand the difficulties and be a helping hand to each other... THAT BRIGHTENS THE RELATIONSHIP.

COURTESY:
ART OF LIVING, DUBAI NEWS LETTER

Always Keep Smiling

In Memory of all those who love their bosses !

In Memory of all those who love their bosses !


A guy phones up his Boss,
but gets the bosses' wife instead.
"I'm afraid he died last week."
she explains. The next day the
man calls again and asks for
the boss. "I told you" the wife replies,
"he died last week." The next day
he calls again and once more
asks to Speak to his boss.
By this time the wife is getting upset and shouts, "I'VE ALREADY
TOLD YOU TWICE, MY HUSBAND,
YOUR BOSS, DIED LAST WEEK! WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING?"
He replied laughing,
"I just love hearing it..."

Smart Hosts

It was at a party and the host was getting worried because there were too many people and not enough refreshments.She was sure that not all of these people had been invited but didn't know how to tell which ones were the crashers. Then her husband got an idea....

He turned to the crowd of guests and said "Will those who are from the brides side of the family stand up please?" about twenty people stood.

Then he asked " Will those who are from the groom side of the family stand up as well?" about twenty five people stood up.

The He smiled and said

-

-

-

"Will all those who stood please leave, This is a birthday party".

Four letter words

A young couple got married and went on their honeymoon. When they got back, the bride immediately called her mother. "Well," said her mother, "So how was the honeymoon?" "Oh, mama," she replied, "The honeymoon was wonderful! So romantic..."

Suddenly she burst out crying. "But, mama, as soon as we returned, Sam started using the most horrible language -- things I'd never heard Before! I mean, all these awful 4-letter words! You've got to take me home...,PLEASE MAMA!" "Sarah, Sarah," her mother said, "calm down! You need to stay with your husband and work this out. Now, tell me, what could be so awful? WHAT
4-letter words?"

"Please don't make me tell you, mama," wept the daughter, "I'm so embarrassed, they're just too awful! COME GET ME, PLEASE!!"

"Darling, baby, you must tell me what has you so upset. Tell your Mother these horrible 4-letter words!"

Still sobbing, the bride said, "Oh, Mama..., he used words like: dust, wash, iron, cook..."

"I'll pick you up in twenty minutes," said the mother.

Why parents age so fast..

A boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper. " Hello ? "

"Is your daddy home?" he asked.

" Yes ," whispered the small voice.

May I talk with him?"
The child whispered, " No ."
Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?" " Yes ."

"May I talk with her?" Again the small voice whispered, " No ."

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?"

" Yes ," whispered the child, " a policeman ."

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"

" No, he's busy , " whispered the child.

"Busy doing what?"

" Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman ," came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise in the
background through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"

" A helicopter " answered the whispering voice.

"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.
Again, whispering, the child answered, " The search team just landed a helicopter ."

Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked, "What are they searching for?"

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle...
" ME ."

Farmer and the Money Lender

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think. Start your day with this thought provoking story and have a nice day.

DONT WORK HARD...... "WORK SMART"

Bus Driver & the old Lady

A tour bus driver is driving with a bus load of seniors down a highway when he is tapped on his shoulder by a little old lady. She offers him a handful of peanuts, which he gratefully munches up.

After about 15 minutes, she taps him on his shoulder again and she hands him another handful of peanuts.

She repeats this gesture about five more times.
When she is about to hand him another batch again he asks the little old lady, ' why don`t you eat the peanuts yourself?'.

'We can't chew them because we've no teeth', she replied.

The puzzled driver asks, 'Why do you buy them then?'

The old lady replied, "We just love the chocolate around them"

Software Engg & Genei !!

A Junior Software engineer, a Senior Software engineer and their Project Manager are on their way to a meeting just before lunch. On their way through a park, they come across a wonder lamp. They rub the lamp and a ghost appears. The ghost says, "Normally, one is granted three wishes but as you are three, I will allow one wish each".
So the eager Junior Software engineer shouted, I want the first w ish . I want to be in the Bahamas , on a fast boat and have no worries. "Pfufffff" and he was gone.

Now the Senior Software engineer could not keep quiet and shouted " I want to be in Florida with beautiful girls, plenty of food and cocktails. "Pfufffff "
and he was also gone .

The Project Manager calmly said," I want these two idiots back in the office after lunch at 1.30pm "

Moral of the story is :
"Always allow the boss to speak first"

Truly Hilarious!!!

Read on the true incident of a lady and just keep on laughing !!!! You just can't stop laughing, I am so sure abt it.

One day I met a sweet gentleman and fell in love. When it became apparent that we would marry, I made the supreme sacrifice and gave up eating beans just to keep him happy.

Some months later, on my birthday , my car broke down on the way home from work. Since I lived in the countryside I called my husband and told him that I would be late because I had to walk home. On my way, I passed by a small diner and the odour of baked beans was more than I could stand. With miles to walk, I figured that I would walk off any ill effects by the time I reached home, so I stopped at the dinner and before I knew it, I had consumed three large orders of baked beans.

All the way home, I made sure that I released all the gas. Upon my arrival, my husband seemed excited to see me and exclaimed delightedly: "Darling I have a surprise for dinner tonight." He then blindfolded me and led me to my chair at the dinner table. I took a seat and just as he was about to remove my blindfold, the telephone rang. He made me promise not to touch the blindfold until he returned and went to answer the call. The baked beans I had consumed were still affecting me and the pressure was becoming most unbearable, so while my husband was out of the room I seized the opportunity, shifted my weight to one leg and let one go. It was not only loud, but it smelled like a fertilizer truck running over a skunk in front of a pulpwood mill.

I took my napkin from my lap and fanned the air around me vigorously. Then, shifting to the other cheek, I ripped off three more. The stink was worse than oked=20cabbage. Keeping my ears carefully tuned to the conversation in the other room, I went on like this for another few minutes.

The pleasure was indescribable. When eventually the telephone farewells signalled the end of my freedom, I quickly fanned the air a few more times with my napkin, placed it on my lap and folded my hands back on it feeling very relieved and pleased with myself. My face must have been the picture of innocence when my husband returned, apologizing for taking so long.

He asked me if I had peeked through the blindfold, and I assured him I had not. At this point, he removed the blindfold, and I nearly died when I saw twelve dinner guests seated around the table & they all chorused:

Corporate Lessons

CORPORATE LESSON 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 dollars to drop that towel."

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she get to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?"

"It was Bob the next door neighbor" she replies.

"Great!" the husband says. "Did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to the credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

-----------------------
CORPORATE LESSON 2

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish."

"Me first! Me first!" says the admin. clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone.

"Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone.

"OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

---------------------------
CORPORATE LESSON 3

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?"

The crow answered, "Sure, why not?"

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.

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CORPORATE LESSON 4

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree", sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story: B.S. might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Nun In The Bathroom

A nun, badly needing to use to the restroom, walked into a local Hooters. The place was hopping with music and loud conversation and every once in a while the lights would turn off. Each time the lights would go out, the place would erupt into cheers.

However, when the revelers saw the nun, the room went dead silent. She walked up to the bartender, and asked, "May I please use the restroom?

The bartender replied, "OK, but I should warn you that there is a statue of a naked man in there wearing only a fig leaf" Well, in that case I'll just look the other way," said the nun. So, the bartender showed the nun to the back of the restaurant.

After a few minutes, she came back out, and the whole place stopped just long enough to give the nun a loud round of applause. She went to the bartender and said, "Sir, I don't understand. Why did they applaud for me just because I went to the restroom?"

"Well, now they know you're one of us," said the bartender, "Would you like a drink?" But, I still don't understand," said the puzzled nun.

"You see," laughed the bartender, "every time someone lifts the fig leaf on that statue, the lights go out. Now, how about that drink?"

Men will always be men!!!***Hilarious***

A man boards a Jet Airways airplane Delhi to Mumbai and takes his seat.

As he settles in, he glances up and sees an extremely attractive woman
boarding the plane.

He soon realizes she's heading straight towards his seat.

Lo and behold, she takes the seat right beside his.

Eager to strike up a conversation, he asks "Business trip or vacation?"

She turns, smiles, and says, "Business. I'm going to the annual
Sexologists' Convention."

He swallows hard, thinks to himself, here is the most gorgeous woman he has
ever seen, sitting next to him, and she's a sexologist!

Struggling to contain his excitement and maintain his composure, he calmly
asks, "What's your business role at this convention?"

"Lecturer," she says, "I use my experience to debunk some of the popular
myths about sexuality."

"Really?" he says, swallowing hard. "What m-m-m-myths are those?

"Well," she explains, "one popular myth is that Negro men are the best
endowed when, in fact, it's the Sardar ji who is most likely to possess that
trait.

Another popular myth is that French men are the most sensitive lovers, when
actually it is the Bengali.

However, we have found that the best potential lover in sensuousness is the
Tamilian."

Suddenly, the woman becomes a little uncomfortable and blushes.

"I'm sorry," she says, "I shouldn't be discussing this with you. I don't
even know your name!"

" Venkatraman! " the man blurts. "Venkatraman Mukherjee! But my friends call
me Narinder Singh!"

A deserted Island.

A ship sank in high seas and the following people got stranded on a beautiful
deserted island in the middle of nowhere:

A. 2 Italian men and 1 Italian woman
B. 2 French men and 1 French woman
C. 2 German men and 1 German woman
D. 2 Greek men and 1 Greek woman
E. 2 Polish men and 1 Polish woman
F. 2 Mexican men and 1 Mexican woman
G. 2 Indian men and 1 Indian woman

What a Crazy coincidence! One month later, on various parts of the island,
the following was observed:


A. One Italian man killed the other Italian man for the Italian woman.

B. The two French men and the French woman are living happily together.

C. The two German men have a strict weekly schedule of when they spend time
with the German woman.

D. The two Greek men are happy together, and the Greek woman is cooking &
cleaning for them.

E. The two Polish men took a long look at the endless ocean and a long look
at the Polish woman, and they started swimming.

F. The two Mexican men are talking to all the other men on the island trying
to sell them the Mexican woman.

G. What happened to the Indians????


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The 2 Indian men are still waiting for someone to introduce them to the
Indian woman!!!!

Poetic Resignation

Poetic Resignation

The name is good, the brand is big
But the work I do is that of a pig
The work or the brand; what is my way?
I don't know if I should stay.

To work, they have set their own way
Nobody will care to hear what I say
My will be NULL, they wont change their way
I don't know if I should stay.

The project is in a critical stage
But to do good work, this is the age
This dilemma is killing me day by day
I don't know if I should stay.

The money is good, the place is great
But the development is at a very small rate
Should I go for the work, or wait for pay
I don't know if I should stay!

The managers don't know what they talk
The team doesn't know where they walk
That's a bad situation, what say?
I don't know if I should stay.

I can go to any other place
But what if I get the same disgrace
I can't keep switching day by day
I don't know if I should stay.

The -ves are more, the +ves are less
Then why have this unnecessary mess
No more will I walk their way,
It's all done, I won't stay.

Thanks & Regards
Employee

Manager Response

Reply: What I want to say? (Manager)


The decision is good or decision is bad
Only God knows still I am glad
Keep moving in life that is what I can say

If you feel right go in the same way
May god give you the work, the challenge you want
Anyway there is always a second chance
Chances are there, grab them snatch them
That is what I can say

Keep on jumping companies to get more and more and more....
That will keep you always a fore (Even to me)
From my experience I can tell you
Working here is like taking hell out of you
You are frustrated since you have no quality work
And you were frustrated because you had quantity work

It's always like that previous job was better than the current one
And expects the new job will be much better than this one
But what you get is a frustration level up to sun
Than you will again send the resignation like this one
This is all what I want to say

Have you completed all the formalities?
Filled the form and got it signed from dept. humanities (HR)
Once done you can take all your cash
But don't refer others as they will follow you're a*s.
At last I appreciate your contribution to the company
Even though there was not any....

You will keep a copy of this with you for FYI
Don't feel shy
As I also got it some time back from my old manger say Hi....
That is all what I want to say.


Thanks & Regards
Manager

The Seed

The Seed
A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to chose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different.

He called all the young executives in his company together.

"It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO," he said. "I have decided to choose one of you."

The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today - a very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed.

He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened.

Jim felt sick at his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.

He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful--in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed. A few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back.

"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO.

"Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front.

Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Here is your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!"

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said?

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed.

I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me
today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.

"When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.

If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.

If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.

If you plant hard work, you will reap success.

If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

The Cat And Mouse In Partnership

Would you believe it if I told you that a cat wanted to make friends with a mouse? The mouse did not believe it either, but it is true.

'I'm very fond of you, little whiskers,' said the cat.

'Why?' asked the mouse. 'Do you want to eat me?'

'Good heavens, no!' exclaimed the cat. 'I only want to be friendly.'

'I don't trust you,' said the mouse.

'Oh, come now,' replied the cat. 'I'm lonely and so are you. Winter is coming on. It will be dark and cold. If we live together we can keep each other company and help each other to find food.'

'I know who will be the food!' said the mouse.

'Nonsense,' said the cat. 'I love you far too much.'

'I'll think about it,' said the mouse.

In the end, she agreed to set up house with the cat. They found a comfortable, broken-down cottage. It was so old that only animals ever used it. There, they cleaned up one room to their liking and laid down plenty of warm straw.

'We must get a store of food for the winter,' said the cat, 'or we shall go hungry. There will not be much food around when the ground is thick with snow. It will be dangerous for you to go out in the winter, little whiskers. I'll not be able to get you out of every trap you fall into.'

'A pot of dripping would be nice,' said the mouse.

'That would be very good,' agreed the cat.

They stole a pot of dripping from the larder of a house and they hid it in the safest place they could think of. They hid it under the altar in the nearby church.

'No one will dare go looking for it there,' said the cat.

'We must not touch it until the winter is very cold and we are hungry,' said the mouse.

'Agreed,' said the cat. 'It shall be our secret store when times get bad.'

They settled into their new life together quite happily. The mouse kept a careful eye on the cat, in case she should get a little too hungry for safety. Happily, the cat behaved herself and life was peaceful.

Soon enough the cat began to think about the pot of dripping hidden underneath the altar. The more she thought about it, the more she longed for it.



'I deserver a treat for behaving so well,' she said to herself. 'Friendship is a great strain when one is hungry.'

One day, she could not wait no longer.

'Little whiskers,' she said to the mouse, 'my cousin has just had a son and has asked me to be godmother. I hear he is a charming child, white with brown spots. Can you imagine such a pretty kitten?'

The mouse shivered. 'Kittens are just as dangerous as cats, in my opinion,' she said.

'I must hold him at the font when he is baptized,' said the cat. 'You will not mind if I go out for the day and leave you to look after the house, will you?'

'Of course not,' said the mouse, 'but don't bring the kitten or your cousin back here, that's all.'

The cat went straight off to the church. There was no cousin and kitten. She crept beneath the altar and began to lick greedily at the pot of dripping. It was so good that she licked the whole of the top off.

'Delicious,' she murmured. 'Quite delicious.'

She went for a stroll along the rooftops. She lay out in the afternoon sun. She purred and stretched and rubbed her whiskers with her paws every time she thought about the hidden pot of dripping.

'Life is not altogether bad,' she thought.

She did not return home until evening.

'How was it?' said the cat. 'Very, Very good.'

'What was its name?' asked the mouse.

'Name? Name?' said the cat in surprise.

'The kitten did have a name, didn't it?' asked the mouse.

'Oh, the kitten, yes, of course,' said the cat. 'Topoff was its name.'

'Topoff!' exclaimed the mouse. 'That's funny sort of name.'

'Well, it was a funny sort of kitten,' said the cat. 'It's rather like your nephew being called Crumbstealer.'

'That's true,' thought the mouse, and said not more about it. They continued their life together as before.

Not for long!

The cat could not forget about the hidden pot of dripping. It seemed wrong that the pot should lie there with its top off. What it someone should find it? What if someone else should ate it? The thought was too terrible.

'Dear little whiskers,' said the cat, 'there seems to be a rush of births in my family just now. Another cousin has asked me to be godmother to her child. She says that the kitten has a beautiful white ring around its neck. Who could refuse to be godmother to such a creature?'

'I could,' said the mouse.

'You will not mind if I go off for the day again, will you?' asked the cat. 'Keep the house nice and warm while I'm away. I'll not be long.'

'Have a good time,' called the mouse, 'and bring me back some wine this time.'

'I will, I will,' said the cat.

She raced along the town walls and in through the back of the church. The dripping tasted even better than before.

'It's true,' thought the cat. 'The best things in life are the things that you save for yourself.'

By the time she had finished licking the dripping, it was half gone.

It was nightfall before she got home.

'How did it go?' asked the mouse.

'No trouble,' replied the cat. 'It went very quickly. I met some friends afterwards. That's why I'm little late.'

'What was this one's name?' asked the mouse.

'Halfgone!' exclaimed the mouse. 'What sort of name is that? It's not a saint's name, that's for sure.'

'A family name, I think,' said the cat. 'One of those middle names that people pass down from generation to generation, like Cheesenibbler in your family.'

'It sounds unlikely,' said the mouse.

'Never mind,' said the cat. 'People have strange ideas, you know?'

The cat tried not to think about the dripping for several days. It was no good. She worried about it more and more.

'I should not leave the pot half empty,' she said to herself. 'It's sure to go mouldy now that it's been started. My mother always told me, never leave a job half finished. I had better go along and clean it up.'

She said to the mouse, 'You will never believe this.'

'Probably not,' said the mouse.

'It seems that good things always come in threes,' said the cat. 'Another kitten has been born.'

'And you are to be godmother?' said the mouse.

'That's right,' said the cat. 'How did you guess?'

'Bad things also come in threes,' said the mouse.

'Ah, little whiskers, you must not be jealous,' said the cat. 'This kitten is quite black, except for its big white paws. You never saw such a delightful kitten in your life.'

'No kittens are delightful,' said the mouse.

'But you will not mind if I go just this last time, will you, little whiskers?' asked the cat.

'Topoff! Halfgone! I wonder what this one will be called?' said the mouse.

'Don't you trouble your little grey head about it,' said the cat. 'That's what comes from sitting at home all the time. You get fanciful ideas and worry about nothing. You ought to get out more. You ought to make friends.'

'I thought you were my friend,' said the mouse.

'Of course I am, little whiskers,' said the cat. 'I'll look after you. Now, I must be off or I'll be late.'

This time, the cat turned the pot of dripping right over on its side and stuck her paw down to the very bottom. She wiped away the last morsels of dripping and licked her paw clean. She looked inside the pot. It was all gone.

'Why do the best things in life never last long?' she said.

She walked slowly back along the town walls, feeling full and a little sad.

'Was it fun?' asked the mouse.

'I must admit,' said the cat, 'I was sorry to leave.'

'Are you going to tell me the name?' asked the mouse.

'You will not like it,' said the cat.

'Try me,' said the mouse.

'Allgone,' said the cat.

'I don't like it,' said the mouse.

'Well,' said the cat, 'it's no worse than your cousin being called Holegnawer.'

'I still don't like it,' said the mouse, and went to sleep.

The cat was not asked to be godmother again. Soon the winter set in. The earth became icy hard. Snow settled on the frozen ground. Food was difficult to find and the mouse was getting hungry.

'How about our pot of dripping?' she asked the cat.

'How about it?' said the cat.

'It should taste pretty good by now,' said the mouse.

'It should, I agree,' said the cat.

'Do you think the pot will be safe?' asked the mouse.

'Oh, the pot is sure to be safe,' said the cat. 'It's the dripping I'm worried about,' she said to herself.

'Come on, let's go and see,' said the mouse.

'I'm afraid,' said the cat, 'that it will do us about as much good as a mouthful of cold air.'

'Fresh air is good for us,' said the mouse. 'You said so yourself.'

'Oh, dear,' said the cat. 'Here we go.'

They reached the church and the mouse ran underneath the altar.

'Here is the pot,' she called, 'but where is the dripping?'

'All gone, by the look of it,' said the cat.

'You greasy-pawed fur-ball!' shrieked the mouse. 'You thief! You cheat! You liar! So much for your friendship! All that nonsense about godmothers and kittens! I see it all now.'

'Quite, little whiskers,' said the cat. 'I can explain it all.'

'Oh, can you?' shrilled the mouse. 'A kitten with brown spots! I remember there were brown spots on top of the dripping. Another kitten with a white ring round its neck! That was the white dripping below the top of the pot, was it not? And a third kitten with black fur and white paws? What was that, then? The black, empty pot and the white dripping at the bottom!'

The mouse was jumping up and down with furry.

'Topoff!' she shrieked. 'Halfgone!' she shrilled.

'Shut up,' said the cat, 'or you will be . . .'

'Allgone!' screamed the mouse.

The cat sprang on her and gobbled her up.

That is the way of the world, you see!

Accept people

A story is told about a s0ldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietn@m. He called his parents from San Francisco.

"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me.
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."
"There's something you should know," the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."

"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco p0lice. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The p0lice believed it was suicide.

The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!! There's a miracle called Friendship That dwells in the heart You don't know how it happens Or when it gets started But you know the special lift It always brings. And you realize that Friendship Is God's most precious gift!
Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. Show your friends how much you care....

A Short Story !

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an Argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the SAND:

"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."
They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a STONE:

"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him,
"After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone,

Why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us we should write
it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."


“LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.”
They say it takes a MINUTE to find a special person, an HOUR to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. Send this phrase to the people you'll never forget and remember to send it also to the person who sent it to you. It's a short message to let them know that you'll never forget them. If you don't send it to anyone, it means you're in a hurry and that you've forgotten your friends. Take the time to live!!!

A Beautiful story.

This is a beautiful story of someone u would admire!You won't believe who the person is.Here is a true story by Paul Harvey.Pass it to anyone who you think would find it interesting and inspiring.

You will be surprised who this young man turned out to be. (Do not look at the bottom of this letter until you have read it fully.)

Years ago a hardworking man took his family from New York State to Australia to take advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this man's family was a handsome young son who had aspirations of joining the circus as a trapeze artist or an actor. This young fellow, biding his time until a circus job or even one as a stagehand came along, worked at the local shipyards which bordered on the worse section of town.

Walking home from work one evening this young man was attacked by five thugs who wanted to rob him. Instead of just giving up his money the young fellow resisted.However they bested him easily and proceeded to beat him to a pulp.They mashed his face with their boots, and kicked and beat his body brutally with clubs, leaving him for dead. When the police happened to find him lying in the road they assumed he was dead and called for the Morgue Wagon.

On the way to the morgue a policeman heard him gasp for air, and they immediately took him to the emergency unit at the hospital.When he was placed on a gurney a nurse remarked to her horror,that his young man no longer had a face. Each eye socket was smashed, his skull,legs, and arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all is teeth were gone, and his jaw was almost completely torn from his skull.

Although his life was spared he spent over a year in the hospital.When he finally left, his body may have healed, but his face was disgusting to look at. He was no longer the handsome youth that everyone admired.

When the young man started to look for work again he was turned down by everyone just on account of the way he looked. One potential employer suggested to him that he join the freak show at the circus as "The Man Who Had No Face"..... and he did this for a while. He was still rejected by everyone and no one wanted to be seen in his company. He had
thoughts of suicide.

This went on for five years.One day he passed a church and sought some solace there. Entering the church he encountered a priest who had saw him sobbing while kneeling in a
pew. The priest took pity on him and took him to the rectory where they talked at length. The priest was impressed with him to such a degree that he said that he would do everything possible for him that could be done to restore his dignity and life, if the young man would promise to be the best Catholic he could be, and trust in God's mercy to free him from his torturous life.

The young man went to Mass and communion every day, and after thanking God for saving his life, asked God to only give him peace of mind and the grace to be the best man he could ever be in His eyes. The priest, through his personal contacts was able to secure the services of the best plastic surgeon in Australia. There would be no cost to the young man, as the doctor was the priest's best friend. The doctor too was so impressed by the young man, whose outlook now on life, even though he had experienced the worst, was filled with good humor and love.

The surgery was a miraculous success. All the best dental work was also done for him. The young man became everything he promised God he would be.
He was also blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife, and many children, and success in an industry which would have been the furthest thing from his mind as a career if not for the goodness of God and the love of the people who cared for him. This he acknowledges publicly.

This man is none other than the oscar winning actor Mel Gibson who has been the hero in The Patriot,Lethal Weapon,Brave Heart,Maverick,Signs and many more great movies.