ZGÂRCITUL

A Miser had buried his gold in a secret place in his garden. Every day he went
to the spot, dug up the treasure and counted it piece by piece to make sure it
was all there. He made so many trips that a Thief, who had been observing
him, guessed what it was the Miser had hidden, and one night quietly dug up
the treasure and made off with it.

When the Miser discovered his loss, he was overcome with grief and despair.
He groaned and cried and tore his hair. A passerby heard his cries and asked
what had happened.

“My gold! O my gold!” cried the Miser, wildly, “someone has robbed me!”

“Your gold! There in that hole? Why did you put it there? Why did you not
keep it in the house where you could easily get it when you had to buy things?”

“Buy!” screamed the Miser angrily. “Why, I never touched the gold. I couldn’t
think of spending any of it.”

The stranger picked up a large stone and threw it into the hole. “If that is the
case,” he said, “cover up that stone. It is worth just as much to you as the
treasure you lost!”

Moral: Saving, Spending wisely and appropriately is a good sign if you do it for
a good purpose. Otherwise, a possession is worth no more than the use we
make of it.

LEGĂTURA DINTRE CEI DOI FRAȚI

I was born in a secluded village on a mountain. Day after day, my parents

plowed the yellow dry soil with their backs towards the sky. One day, I wanted
to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around me seemed to have. So, one day I
stole 50 cents from my father’s drawer. Father discovered about the stolen
money right away.

“Who stole the money?” he asked my brother and me. I was stunned, too afraid
to talk. Neither of us admitted to the fault, so he said, “Fine, if nobody wants to
admit, you both should be punished!” Suddenly, my younger brother gripped
Father’s hand and said, “Dad, I was the one who did it!” He took the blame,
and punishment, for me.

In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly. My brother covered
my mouth with his little hand and said, “Sis, now don’t cry anymore.
Everything has happened.” I will never forget my brother’s expression when he
protected me. That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11 years old. I
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still hate myself for not having enough courage to admit what I did. Years went
by, but the incident still seemed like it just happened yesterday.

When my brother was in his last year of secondary school, he was accepted in
an upper secondary school in the central part of town. At the same time, I was
accepted into a university in the province. That night, Father squatted in the
yard, smoking packet by packet. I could hear him ask my mother, “Both of our
children, they have good results? Very good results?” Mother wiped off her
tears and sighed, “What is the use? How can we possibly finance both of
them?”

At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front of Father and said, “Dad,
I don’t want to continue my study anymore, I have read enough books.” Father
became angry. “Why do you have a spirit so weak? Even if it means I have to
beg for money on the streets, I will send you two to school until you have both
finished your studies!” And then, he started to knock on every house in the
village to borrow money.

I stuck out my hand as gently as I could to my brother’s face, and told him, “A
boy has to continue his study. If not, he will not be able to overcome this
poverty we are experiencing.” I, on the other hand, had decided not to further
my study at the university.

Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my brother left the house with
a few pieces of worn-out clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of
the bed and left a note on my pillow, “Sis, getting into a university is not easy. I
will go find a job and I will send money to you.” I held the note while sitting on
my bed, and cried until I lost my voice.

With the money father borrowed from the whole village, and the money my
brother earned from carrying cement on his back at a construction site, finally,
I managed to get to the third year of my study in the university. That year, my
brother was 17 years old and I was 20 years old.

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate came in and told me,
“There’s a villager waiting for you outside!” Why would there be a villager
looking for me? I walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His whole body
was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked him, “Why did you not
tell my roommate that you are my brother?”

He replied with a smile, “Look at my appearance. What will they think if they
would know that I am your brother? Won’t they laugh at you?” I felt so
touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept away dirt and dust from my brother’s
body. And told him with a lump in my throat, “I don’t care what people would
say! You are my brother no matter what your appearance.”

From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip. He put it on my hair and
said, ‘I saw all the girls in town are wearing it. I think you should also have
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one.’ I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my brother into my arms
and cried. That year, my brother was 20 years old and I was 23 years old.

After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times my husband invited my
parents to come and live with us, but they didn’t want. They said once they left
the village, they wouldn’t know what to do. My brother agreed with them. He
said, “Sis, you just take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care of Mom and
Dad here.”

My husband became the directors of his factory. We asked my brother to

accept the offer of being the manager in the maintenance department. But my
brother rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a repairman instead for a
start.

One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder repairing a cable, when he got
electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital. My husband and I visited him at the
hospital. Looking at the plaster cast on his leg, I grumbled, “Why did you reject
the offer of being a manager? Managers won’t do something dangerous like
that. Now look at you – you are suffering a serious injury. Why didn’t you just
listen to us?”

With a serious expression on his face, he defended his decision, “Think of your
brother-in-law, he just became the director. If I, being uneducated, would
become a manager, what kind of rumors would fly around?” My husband’s
eyes filled up with tears, and then I said, “But you lack in education only
because of me!”

“Why do you talk about the past?” he said and then he held my hand. That
year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old. My brother was 30 years old
when he married a farmer girl from the village. During the wedding reception,
the master of ceremonies asked him, “Who is the one person you respect and
love the most?”

Without even taking a time to think, he answered, “My sister.” He continued by

telling a story I could not even remember. “When I was in primary school, the
school was in a different village. Everyday, my sister and I would walk for 2
hours to school and back home. One day, I lost one of my gloves. My sister
gave me one of hers. She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When we
got home, her hands were trembling because of the cold weather. She could not
even hold her chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long as I lived, I
would take care of my sister and would always be good to her.”
Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their attention to me. I found it
hard to speak, “In my whole life, the one I would like to thank most is my
brother,” And in this happy occasion, in front of the crowd, tears were rolling
down my face again.

Moral: Love and care for the one you love every single day of your life. You may
think what you did is just a small deed, but to that someone, it may mean a lot.
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Some relations are made to be last longer but they still need to be nurtured
with love and care.

BINELE SE ÎNTOARCE

Once upon a time Shree Krishna and Arjun went for a short stroll around the
city. They saw a poor looking priest begging. Arjun felt pity at him and he gave
him a bag full of 100 gold coins. The priest became very happy and thanked
Arjun. He left for his home. On way, he saw another person who needed help.
The priest could have spared a coin or two to help that person. however, he
chose to ignore it. But on way to his home, one thief robbed him of his bag of
coins and ran away.

The priest became dejected and went back again for begging. Next day again
when Arjun saw the same priest begging and he was surprised that after
getting a bag full of coins which can last a lifetime, the priest was still begging!
He called the priest and asked him the reason for this. The priest told him
about the whole incident and Arjun again felt pity at him. So, this time he gave
him a diamond.

The priest became very happy and left for home and he again saw someone
who needed help but he chose to ignore again. Upon reaching home, he safely
put the diamond in an empty pot of water with a plan to cash it out later and
live a wealthy life. His wife was not at home. He was very tired so he decided to
take a nap. In between, his wife came home and picked up that empty pot of
water, walked towards the river close by to fill up the water. She had not
noticed the diamond in the pot. Upon arriving at the river, she put the whole
pot into the running river water to fill it up. She filled up the pot but the
diamond was gone with the water flow!

When the priest woke up, he went to see the pot and asked his wife about the
diamond. She told him, she had not noticed it and it must have been lost in the
river. The priest couldn’t believe his bad luck and again started begging. Again
Arjun and Shree Krishna saw him begging and Arjun inquired about it. Arjun
felt bad and started thinking if this priest will ever have a happy life.

Shree Krishna who is an incarnation of God smiled. Shree Krishna gave that
priest one coin which was not even enough for buying a lunch or dinner for one
person. Arjun asked Shree Krishna, “Lord, I gave him gold coins and diamond,
which could have given him a wealthy life, yet it didn’t help him. How will just
one coin help this poor guy?” Shree Krishna smiled and told Arjun to follow
that priest and find out.

On the way, the priest was thinking that one coin Shree Krishna gave him, he
can’t even buy a lunch for one person. Why would he give so little? He saw a

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fisherman who was getting a fish out of his net. Fish was struggling. The priest
felt pity at fish. He thought that this one coin won’t solve my problem, why not
I save that fish. So the priest paid the fisherman and took the fish. He put the
fish in his small pot of water which he always carried with him.

The fish was struggling in a small pot of water, ended up throwing out a
diamond from the mouth! The priest screamed with a joy, “I got it, I got it”. At
that same point, the thief who had robbed the priest’s bag of 100 gold coins,
was passing through there. He thought that the priest recognized him and may
get him punished. He got nervous and ran to the priest. He apologized to the
priest and returned his bag full of 100 gold coins. The priest couldn’t believe
what just happened.

Arjun saw all this and said, “Oh Lord, Now I understand your play”.

Moral: When you have enough to help others, don’t let that chance go. Your
good deeds will always be repaid to you.

CLUBUL CELOR 99

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was
neither happy nor content. One day, the King came upon a servant who was
singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King, why was he, the
Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so
much joy. The King asked the servant, “Why are you so happy?”

The man replied, “Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and
I don’t need too much, just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our
tummies.” The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he
sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King’s woes
and the servant’s story, the advisor said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the
servant has not been made part of The 99 Club.”

“The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?” the King inquired. The advisor
replied, “Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins
in a bag and leave it at this servant’s doorstep.” So the King ordered to do it.
When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the
bag, he let out a great shout of joy, So many gold coins! He began to count
them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins.

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He wondered, “What could’ve happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one
would leave 99 coins!”

He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally,
exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to
earn that gold coin and complete his collection. From that day, the servant’s
life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his
family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing
while he worked. Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was
puzzled. When he sought his advisor’s help, the advisor said, “Your Majesty,
the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club.”

He continued, “The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough
to be happy but are never content, because they’re always yearning and striving
for that extra 1 telling to themselves, “Let me get that one final thing and then I
will be happy for life.”

Moral: We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we’re
given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our
happiness, we hurt the people around us, all these as a price for our growing
needs and desires. We must learn to maintain a balance of our need and
desires to enjoy a happy life with what we already have.

TABLOUL REGELUI CU UN SINGUR OCHI

Once upon a time, there was a Kingdom. The king there only had one leg and
one eye, but he was very intelligent and kind. Everyone in his kingdom lived a
happy and a healthy life because of their king. One day the king was walking
through the palace hallway and saw the portraits of his ancestors. He thought
that one day his children will walk in the same hallway and remember all the
ancestors through these portraits.
But, the king did not have his portrait painted. Due to his physical disabilities,
he wasn’t sure how his painting would turn out. So he invited many famous
painters from his and other kingdoms to the court. The king then announced
that he wants a beautiful portrait made of himself to be placed in the palace.
Any painter who can carry out this should come forward. He will be rewarded
based on how the painting turns up.
All of the painters began to think that the king only has one leg and one eye.
How can his picture be made very beautiful? It is not possible and if the picture

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does not turn out to look beautiful then the king will get angry and punish
them. So one by one, all started to make excuses and politely declined to make
a painting of the king.
But suddenly one painter raised his hand and said that I will make a very
beautiful portrait of you which you will surely like. The king became happy
hearing that and other painters got curious. The king gave him the permission
and the painter started drawing the portrait. He then filled the drawing with
paints. Finally, after taking a long time, he said that the portrait was ready!
All of the courtiers, other painters were curious and nervous thinking, How can
the painter make the king’s portrait beautiful because the king is physically
disabled? What if the king didn’t like the painting and gets angry? But when
the painter presented the portrait, everyone in the court, including the king,
left stunned.
The painter made a portrait in which the king was sitting on the horse, on the
one-leg side, holding his bow and aiming the arrow with his one eye closed.
The king was very pleased to see that the painter has made a beautiful portrait
by cleverly hiding the king’s disabilities. The King gave him a great reward.
Moral: We should always think positive of others and ignore their deficiencies.
We should learn to focus on the good things instead of trying to hide
weaknesses. If we think and approach positively even in a negative situation,
then we will be able to solve our problems more efficiently.

O SIMPLĂ MONEDĂ
A Sage was passing through the capital city of the famous king. While he was
walking, he noticed a single currency coin on the road. He picked it up. He was
satisfied with his simple living and he had no use of that coin. So, he planned
to donate it to the one who is in need of it. He strolled around the streets
throughout the day but didn’t find anyone such. Finally, he reached the rest
area and spent a night there.
Next morning, he wakes up in the morning for his daily activities and sees that
a king is going for his invasion of another state with his war ready army. When
the king saw the sage standing, he ordered his army to be stopped. He came to
the Sage and said, “Oh Great Sage, I am going to war to win another state so
that my state can be expanded. So bless me to be victorious”.
After thinking, Sage gave a single currency coin to the king! The king was
confused and annoyed with this because what use he has for a single coin while
he is already one of the richest kings! He curiously asked a sage, “what’s the
meaning of this one coin?”

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A Sage explained, “Oh Great King! I found this coin yesterday while strolling
around the streets of your capital city. But I had no use of it. So, I had decided
that I will donate it to someone needy. I strolled around till the evening in your
capital, but found no one such. Everyone was living a happy life. It seemed that
they were satisfied with what they had. So I found no one to give this coin. But
today, the king of this state, still have the desire to gain more and not satisfied
with what he already has, I felt you were in need of this coin.”
The King realized his mistake and gave up the planned war.
Moral: We all should learn to be happy with what we have. Yes, we all desire
more or better than we already have, but do not waste a chance of enjoying
what you already have. There are those who may not have what you have, and
there will be some who have lots more than you have. Do not always compare,
be happy and lead a healthy life.

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