Speedy
How a little bus Speedy learned that by helping others he becomes happy and strong
Life in the big city was in full swing. The sidewalks were filled with people
and rivers of cars flowed through the streets. Taxicabs, buses, and
trains ran from early morning until late at night. They delivered their
passengers to their destinations and tried very hard for no one to be late.
Only one little bus named Speedy always ran empty. Speedy was a very restless
and self-centered bus. In the mornings, when people rushed to work, he
carelessly sped through the streets, blowing hats off the heads of pedestrians
and honking at intersections.
"Where are you going?!" people would yell after him. "Take us, we are in a
hurry!"
"There is no time!" Speedy would answer. "I have an urgent matter to tend
to."
However, there was no matter. Speedy would simply
look in all directions, trying to see everything around him.
Large buses gave Speedy, the troublemaker, reproachful stares, and taxicabs
often tried to find something useful for him to do.
"Look, there is an old man with a heavy bag sitting at the bus stop," they
would say. "Why don't you take him home?"
"Yeah, right!" Speedy would answer. "I need to get to the city park. There is
a holiday show starting soon."
Speedy never opened his doors. That's how stubborn he was!
In the evenings, he drove out onto the lit highway and spent hours speeding
among the endless lines of traffic. Sometimes he even made his way into the
wrong lane only to be signaled out by the angry sirens of ambulances.
And as the city fell asleep, Speedy would head to his garage.
"What did you see today, troublemaker?" the car washing machine would ask
him, tickling him with its furry brushes.
"I saw children going on a class trip to the movies," Speedy answered.
"Did you give them a ride?"
"No way! They leave behind so much garbage!" Speedy would say, frowning.
Once Speedy found himself on a narrow alley. It was rush hour, and he was in
a hurry to get past the huge line of traffic that had spread out over several
blocks.
All of a sudden, he saw a man rushing toward him. Annoyed, Speedy flashed his
lights, but the man decisively stopped in place, blocking his path.
"Take me to the hospital," the man said. "My son is ill. Wait here."
As the man disappeared into the building, it occurred to Speedy that he could
leave because there was no one there to stop him. But something forced him to
stay. The man returned, carrying a little boy in his arms, and for the first
time ever Speedy let passengers in.
"It's all up to you now, little bus!" the man said. "Hurry, but please don't
hurt anyone."
If there was one thing that Speedy could do well, it was hurry. In addition,
he knew all the ins and outs of the city, and took the shortest path to the
hospital. In no time at all, they were facing the emergency room entrance.
The man was amazed. "Thank you, little bus! You were a true help to us," he
said as the hospital attendants placed the boy on the stretcher. As they hurried
him away, the boy glanced at Speedy and gave him a weak smile.
Long after they vanished behind the hospital doors, Speedy stood there,
thinking about what had just happened. He felt that his little engine heart was
skipping beats. The sun had set, the street lamps came on, but he continued to
stand by the hospital entrance. The look on his face was so serious and worried
that the ambulances passed him without saying a word.
And then he saw the boy's father.
"Hey, buddy!" he said, smiling.
No one has ever called Speedy "buddy" before. It felt really nice.
"Were you worried?" the father asked. "Well, don't be. Everything is fine.
You came in time. He is going home in two days."
Speedy honked loudly from happiness. He drove the man home and headed to the
garage, tired but happy.
The next morning, as the boy's parents left their house to go to the
hospital, Speedy was already waiting for them by the door. There was a present
for the boy on the back seat. It was a new colorful map of the city, with all
the different routes, movie theaters, circuses, parks, and other
attractions.
Speedy spent the whole day by the hospital. He did not leave
even for a second because he was afraid to miss the boy's parents. Finally they
appeared in the doorway and waved to him.
"Our son sends a big hello!" they yelled.
Speedy's face lit up, and his headlights began to emanate a warm glow.
They agreed to pick the boy up from the hospital at nine in the morning, and
Speedy headed back to the garage. As he unsuccessfully tried to fall asleep, he
decided to begin a new life.
In the morning, Speedy stood by the hospital doors, trembling and his engine
heart knocking louder than ever. Suddenly, the boy burst out from the doors and
ran over to him, shrieking cheerfully. He treated Speedy like a friend who he
hasn't seen in ages.
"Hello!" the boy said. "I'm so glad you're here. I have so much to tell
you!"
And this is how Speedy became friends with the boy.
But really, he became friends with the whole city because he realized what a
great benefit he can be to people.
Now Speedy is the first bus on the cool pavement of the early morning
streets. He picks up the first passengers at the bus stops. He is always on
time, and politely greets everyone who comes through his doors. Taxicabs wink at
him playfully as they drive by, and large buses simply adore him.
"Enough work for you today, buddy?" the car washing machine asks him.
"One's strength never ceases when one helps others!" Speedy answers and
smiles.
The Best Flower in the Garden
A tale about the flowers that become something special when they came together in a bouquet
As summer came to an end, all of the flowers in the garden wanted to know
which flower was the best:
The pink roses said, "We are the best because we were
the first flowers to bloom in the spring."
The white daisies said, "Oh no, we are the best because we have pretty
flowers all summer long."
The big yellow mums said, "Don't be silly, we are the best because we are the
last flowers to bloom in the autumn."
Each flower argued that they were the best. But
when people came to see the garden, they stopped. All the flowers were quiet and
looked very proud so people would say that they were the best.
One day the gardener came into the garden. The pink roses fluffed their
petals so that they would look best. All of the white daisies stood up tall so
they would look the best. The yellow mums beamed in the sunlight so that they
would look the best. All the flowers were sure that the gardener would say they
were the best. But the gardener only smiled and said, "Look at all of my pretty
flowers!"
The gardener took a basket and began to put the pink roses into it. The roses
were sure they were special because they were picked first. But the daisies just
laughed at the roses, "Ha-ha! You are not pretty enough to stay in the
garden."
Next the gardener put some daisies in the basket and the mums began to laugh,
"Told you! We are the best because we are the only flowers left in the
garden."
Finally the gardener put the mums into the basket. Again, all the flowers
began to fight over who was the best.
When the gardener got to the house, he began to put all of the beautiful
flowers into a vase. First he put the pink roses into the vase, remembering that
they were the first flowers to bloom in the spring. Next he put the yellow
daisies into the vase and thought how wonderful to see them every day when he
walked in the garden. Finally he put the mums into the vase; he was very excited
to finally see the autumn flowers. He had been waiting all summer to see
them.
The gardener put the vase on the table and said, "I have the prettiest
bouquet of flowers. Alone each flower is the best, but together they look
perfect!"
Suddenly the flowers realized that all along each one was the best that they
could be. But it wasn't until the gardener made a bouquet of all of the flowers
together that they became something special. At last all the flowers were happy.
The Invisible Bond
A tale about an evil king who learned to love everybody.
Once upon a time there lived an evil king. He would often hurt
children and grown-ups. He was a vicious and wicked tyrant and he hated
everybody!
One summer day the king looked outside the window and saw a stranger standing
by his castle. There was crowd gathering next to him. The stranger was saying
something and people were laughing. The wicked king didn't like laughter or joy.
He ordered his guards to catch that person and put him in the dungeon. And it
was done.
The day ended, and the king went to
bed. Lying comfortably in his elegant bed he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
He began to drift off and his dreams started to unveil. All of a sudden he saw
the stranger.
"What are you doing in my bedroom?" the king screamed furiously, "You're
supposed be in the dungeon!"
"No, I'm not", said a stranger with a witty
smile, "I'm not just an ordinary person. I am a wizard. And we are going to
embark on a journey together."
"Guards!" the king shouted in terror, but it was too late. Everything started
to twirl in his eyes and the bedroom disappeared.
When he opened his eyes, he
found himself in a big, beautiful city. There were many people all around, but
something was very strange in this picture. He looked closer, and saw that
everyone was connected to each other with thin, shiny threads. Also, he saw that
the same threads linked people to animals and plants.
"What is this?" the king asked in amazement. He could easily walk through the
threads without tearing them. They were like rays of light.
"This is a connection between all that exists on the planet. All of the
people are dependent on each other, and all the plants and animals depend on
them. They are all a part of one organism. These threads are the energy of love
and kindness that allow everybody to live in happiness and joy. If people were
to break these threads of love by using hate, hostility, deceitfulness and
greed, then they would bring suffering and sorrow upon themselves. By hurting
even one person, they can cause destruction and misfortune to many people. They
can destroy animals, plants, and life.
"All of this is nonsense!" shouted the evil king, "What kind of planet is
this?"
"It is your planet", answered wizard. "I just gave you an opportunity
to see what really exists. Normally, you cannot see this because it is
invisible. You need to understand that by spreading harm, you not only destroy
the surrounding world, but eventually you destroy yourself."
"Nonsense! That can't be!" the king screamed.
Just then, the king, who was in a hurry, brushed up against a pedestrian and
accidentally pushed him into the river. The wizard shook his head in
disapproval, waved his hand and...
The king woke up in his bedroom, and he was in a horrible mood. He
immediately sent the guards to check on the stranger-wizard, but the dungeon was
empty. The wizard had disappeared. The evil king was furious, so he called a
knight to execute the guards. But it turned out that the knight was blind. This
was because early that the morning, a gigantic fiery star flew by the planet and
anyone who looked at it became instantly blind. And most people looked at it,
since the entire kingdom went to work at sunrise, as that was the king's
order.
"Why didn't the star-gazers do their job? Where were they?" the king screamed
in rage. Later, it turned out that the star-gazers knew about the fiery star and
sent a messenger to warn everybody. But somebody pushed the messenger into the
river and he drowned.
Almost everybody went blind. The guards and janitors
were blind, and so there was complete chaos in the streets. Blind peasants
couldn't work in the fields and take care of the animals. Hungry pets ran away
into the wilderness. All of the flowers faded; there wasn't anybody that watered
them. The gardens became empty. Nobody could work or make anything. Nobody could
serve the king. Fear and horror took over a planet.
The hungry, petrified and miserable king hid himself. But suddenly, he saw
the wizard. Just as the wicked king was about to attack him, he saw the shiny
thread that connected them.
"So all of this is true?"the horrified king asked.
"Yes, it's true",
answered wizard. "Now you have seen for yourself how everything is
interconnected. You have seen how all of us are dependent on each other. I gave
you a chance to see that. And what did you do?"
"What can be done to restore
everything?" cried the king.
But the wizard just smiled and... disappeared into
thin air.
The king woke up and was standing by a window.
It was an ordinary day summer day and people were walking by. He saw the
stranger standing by his castle. There was crowd gathering next to him. The
stranger was saying something and the people were laughing.
"Guards!" the
king screamed and then he froze for a moment. "Go and approach that person.
Offer him food and shelter, and ask him if he needs anything else."
The moment he said this, he saw that everybody was connected by shiny
threads. And if they were shining, it meant that there was an energy of love and
kindness passing through them. This meant that everyone would live happily ever
after in harmony, joy, peace and love.
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