soon grow weary and fall down and be swallowed by a cat,” said the hummingbird, getting a little angry.
“But, still, don’t you ever wonder how you do it?” the mosquito asked again.
This time the hummingbird flew away quickly after telling the mosquito that he couldn’t stand any more questions.
The mosquito buzzed and laughed. “Now I have fulfilled my purpose—being irritating.”
Moral: Everyone has some purpose, even if only to irritate others.
The Bee and the Wasp
The wasp was one very proud insect. He knew that even the threat of a sting from him made humans race away. “Such power, such power,” he said to himself as he looked for more humans to scare.
It only took a moment for him to spot a family on a picnic. He went into attack mode, diving toward a child and making her run away. “No one can stand up to me,” he laughed to himself with a very wasp-like chuckle that sounded very much like a whizzing noise.
He decided to move in closer to strike terror in the other humans, when he came upon a bee.
“I hope you are not planning to scare these humans away,” the wasp said, “because I am louder and more dangerous than you.”
“No,” responded the smaller bee, “I could sting them, but I choose not to do so. There are other ways to make yourself known.”
“And what gets more attention than my loud buzzing?” asked the wasp.
“Well, it is true you get their attention,” responded the bee, “but if you look around, you will see all the family have left—which surely must make you feel lonely, not just powerful.”
The wasp thought for a moment and then said, “Well, at least I get their attention, which more than I can say for you.”
“But you miss my point,” said the bee. “I am the insect who gives them honey, so they remember me for a long time after I leave.”
So saying, the bee fled to his hive, leaving the wasp wondering why he suddenly felt so lonely.
Moral: You can keep the attention of others much longer with honey than with a sting.
A Star, a Tree, and a Bird
The robin sat on a limb of the evergreen tree. He watched the night sky.
“Look at that shooting star!” he sung, wishing he could have half the star power.
The evergreen tree also wished to be more, remembering how the other trees put on coats of red and yellow and orange as the fall turned into a wild display of colors.
Winter soon arrived. There were few shooting stars to be seen. The once proud trees had lost their colors and were brown and bare. The robin returned to a branch in the evergreen tree.
Noon soon came. The sun shone brightly in the pale, grey sky. “How much more beautiful is the sun than all the shooting stars,” said the robin. Then, looking at the needles of the evergreen tree, he thought how marvelous their color against the winter whiteness. So saying, he threw out his chest and sang a wonderful winter song that made the tree glad.
Moral: Don’t judge your own beauty by how others look. Just be glad to be you.
Big Fish, Small Fowl
One day a great whale was sunning herself not far off shore. Along came a seagull, flying lowly overhead.
“My, my,” said the seagull, what a great creature this whale is. How marvelous to be so large and command such respect, while I, small and weak, seem but a speck against the sky.”
The whale looked up and spotted the seagull. “Oh, oh, how wonderful it must be to be free to fly wherever you want and not be imprisoned by water. I would give anything to be a seagull.”
The seagull flew off into the clouds. The whale turned and headed back out to sea.
Moral: Never compare yourself to others; you’ll either feel inferior or superior, and neither attitude will win you friends.
The Caterpillar
The caterpillar wiggled with great difficulty in his own little home, barely able to move. He grew increasingly depressed thinking about his situation.
“I am doomed forever,” said he, crying out to the Creator to be put out of his misery.
The Creator knew better: Things are not always what they appear to be.
“Imagine you are the most beautiful of all my creations, more wonderful than a fall day, more pleasing to the eye than a morning glory on the vine,” spoke the Creator.
The caterpillar imagined himself to be just what the Creator spoke. He fell asleep and dreamt.
One day, sitting quite still in his small home, the caterpillar felt himself changing. “This is interesting,” he said, looking up to see a small hole in the roof of his home.
Then, in the twinkling of an eye, the caterpillar was free. He floated in the morning breeze and said hello to the morning glories. He watched his amazing black and orange wings fluttering in the breeze, surprised at how graceful he had become.
Is this a dream, he asked himself, or am I completely changed? It didn’t matter really; he was just enjoying himself now.
Moral: Believing is seeing.
The Crows
The crowd of crows perched on the farmer’s fence. They were hungry, but they also were afraid because right there in the middle of the corn field was the farmer, his arms out to warn them not to eat on his property.
“If that farmer weren’t there, I’d fly down right now and have a feast,” said one bragging crow.
“Me, too,” said another, fluffing out his wings to look bigger than he actually was.
“I’ve a good mind to fly down on that farmer’s hat,” said the third crow.
But none of the crows moved, except from time to time to fly away from the field, returning to see if the farmer was still there. “He’s one stubborn man,” said one of the crows.
“Maybe if we wait until it gets dark, the farmer will be as hungry and tried as we are, and go home,” said one crow, shifting his position on the fence.
The crows waited. And waited. And waited. But by the light of the moon the farmer looked even more scary with his arms casting a long shadow across the field.
Morning came. The crows had had enough. “That farmer will never leave,” said one, as they flew off in search of a better corn field.
After eating his breakfast, the farmer came out of his house and went into the field to put more straw into the scarecrow’s chest, glad to keep his crop safe.
Moral: Your worst fears may be wrong.
Pink Elephants
Two cats went for a walk in their neighborhood.
“Have you ever seen a pink elephant?” asked one of them.
“No,” said the other, “because there are no pink elephants.”
“Of course there are,” said the other.
“Ain’t so,” taunted the second cat.
The first cat stopped for a moment before speaking. “Tell you what—I want you to stop thinking about pink elephants, since according to you they aren’t real. Whatever you do, don’t think about pink elephants.”
“That should be easy,” said the other cat.
All day long he tried to stop thinking