A HOLE IN THE FENCE

In a small village, a little boy lived with his father and mother. He was the only son.The parents
of the little boy were very depressed due to his bad temper. The boy used to get angry very soon
and taunt others with his words. His bad temper made him use words that hurt others. He scolded
kids, neighbours and even his friends due to anger. His friends and neighbours avoided him, and
his parents were really worried about him.

His mother and father advised him many times to control his anger and develop kindness.
Unfortunately, all their attempts failed. Finally, the boys father came up with an idea.
One day, his father gave him a huge bag of nails. He asked his son to hammer one nail to the fence
every time he became angry and lost his temper. The little boy found it amusing and accepted the
task.

Every time he lost his temper, he ran to the fence and hammered a nail. His anger drove him to
hammer nails on the fence 30 times on the first day! After the next few days, the number of nails
hammered on the fence was reduced to half. The little boy found it very difficult to hammer the
nails and decided to control his temper.

Gradually, the number of nails hammered to the fence was reduced and the day arrived when no
nail was hammered! The boy did not lose his temper at all that day. For the next several days, he
did not lose his temper, and so did not hammer any nail.

Now, his father told him to remove the nails each time the boy controlled his anger. Several days
passed and the boy was able to pull out most of the nails from the fence. However, there remained
a few nails that he could not pull out.

The boy told his father about it. The father appreciated him and asked him pointing to a hole,
What do you see there?

The boy replied, a hole in the fence!

He told the boy, The nails were your bad temper and they were hammered on people. You can
remove the nails but the holes in the fence will remain. The fence will never look the same. It has
scars all over. Some nails cannot even be pulled out. You can stab a man with a knife, and say
sorry later, but the wound will remain there forever. Your bad temper and angry words were like
that! Words are more painful than physical abuse! Use words for good purposes. Use them to grow
relationships. Use them to show the love and kindness in your heart!

Moral Unkind words cause lasting damage: Let our words be kind and sweet.
 THE GOOSE WITH GOLDEN EGGS

Once upon a time, a man and his wife had the good fortune to have a goose which laid a golden
egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast
enough.

They imagined that if the bird is able to lay golden eggs, its insides must be made of gold. And
they thought that if they could get all that precious metal at once, they would get mighty rich very
soon. So the man and his wife decided to kill the bird.

However, upon cutting the goose open, they were shocked to find that its innards were like that of
any other goose!

MORAL: THINK BEFORE YOU ACT

A MERCHANT AND HIS DONKEY

One beautiful spring morning, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the market,
in order to sell the salt. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not
walked far when they reached a river on the way.

Unfortunately, the donkey slipped and fell into the river. As it scrambled up the bank of the river,
it noticed that the bags of salt loaded on his back had become lighter.

There was nothing the merchant could do except return home, where he loaded his donkey with
more bags of salt. As they reached the slippery riverbank again, the donkey fell into the river, this
time deliberately. Thus the salt was wasted again.

By now the merchant knew the donkeys trick. He wanted to teach the animal a lesson. As he
returned home the second time with the donkey, the merchant loaded bags of sponges on its back.

The duo set out on their trip to the market a third time. On reaching the river, the donkey very
cleverly fell into the water again. But now, instead of the load becoming lighter, it became heavier.

The merchant laughed at the donkey and said, You foolish donkey, your trick has been
discovered. You should know that you cannot fool anyone too many times.
 GREEDY BOY

Sam and Tom were identical twins. They were so identical that even their mother found it difficult
to distinguish one from the other, at least during their initial days on earth.

However, they were very different from each other when it came to everything other than their
appearance. Sam had no friends, while Tom was a great friendship maker. Sam loved sweets, but
Tom loved spicy food and detested sweets. Sam was mommys pet and Tom was daddys pet.
While Sam was generous and selfless, Tom was greedy and selfish!

As Sam and Tom grew up, their father wanted to share his fortune equally amongst them. However,
Tom did not agree and he argued that whoever proved to be more intelligent and strong would
have to get a bigger share of the wealth.

Sam agreed. Their father decided to organize a competition between the two. He asked the two
sons to walk as long as they could, and return home before sunset. The wealth would be divided
in proportion to the distance covered. As a rule of the competition, they were not permitted to carry
a watch to keep track of the time.

The following day, Sam and Tom set out to walk. It was a rather sunny day. Sam walked slowly
and steadily, while Tom broke into a sprint as he was bent on winning the race and also winning a
greater portion of his fathers wealth.

Sam knew that it would be ideal to walk as far as possible till noon and start for home at noon as
it would take the same amount of time to walk back home. Knowing this, Sam decided to turn
back for home at noon so as reach home on time.

However, Tom, with his greed to earn more wealth, did not attempt to return home even after mid-
noon. He walked twice as long as Sam, and thought he would still be able to return home before
sunset. He hurried back when he saw the sun turn orange. Unfortunately, he could not even make
it half way home as the sun started to set. Slowly darkness engulfed his path and he had to drag
his tired feet back home.

He had lost the race. Only because of his greed.

Greed leads to loss.

 THE CUNNING FOX AND THE CLEVER STORK

Once upon a time, there lived a very cunning and mischievous fox. He used to speak to other
animals sweetly and gain their trust, before playing tricks on them.

One day the fox met a stork. He befriended the stork and acted like a very good friend. Soon, he
invited the stork to have a feast with him. The stork happily accepted the invitation.

The day of the feast came, and the stork went to the foxs house. To her surprise and
disappointment, the fox said that he could not make a big feast as promised, and just offered some
soup. When he brought the soup out of the kitchen, the stork saw that it was in a shallow bowl!

The poor stork could not have any soup with its long bill, but the fox easily licked the soup from
the plate. As the stork just touched the soup with the tip of its bill, the fox asked her, How is the
soup? Dont you like it?

The hungry stork replied, Oh it is good, but my stomach is upset, and I cant take any more soup!
Im sorry for troubling you, said the fox.

The stork replied, Oh dear, please dont say sorry. I have some health problem and cannot enjoy
what you offer.

She left the place after thanking the fox, and inviting him to her house for dinner.

The day arrived and the fox reached the storks place. After exchanging pleasantries, the stork
served soup for both of them, in a narrow jar with a long neck. She was able to have the soup very
easily with her long bill, but the fox obviously could not.

After finishing hers, the stork asked the fox if he was enjoying the soup. The fox remembered the
feast he himself had given the stork, and felt very ashamed. He stammered, IId better leave
now. I have a tummy ache.

Humiliated, he left the place running.

Moral: One bad turn begets another.

Wind On The Hill
By A. A. Milne
No one can tell me,
Nobody knows,
Where the wind comes from,
Where the wind goes.

It's flying from somewhere

As fast as it can,
I couldn't keep up with it,
Not if I ran.

But if I stopped holding

The string of my kite,
It would blow with the wind
For a day and a night.

And then when I found it,

Wherever it blew,
I should know that the wind
Had been going there too.

So then I could tell them

Where the wind goes
But where the wind comes from
Nobody knows.

Now We Are Six

By A. A. Milne
When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five,
I was just alive.
But now I am Six,
I'm as clever as clever,
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.
Puppy And I
By A. A. Milne
I met a Man as I went walking:
We got talking,
Man and I.
"Where are you going to, Man?" I said
(I said to the Man as he went by).
"Down to the village, to get some bread.
Will you come with me?" "No, not I."

I met a horse as I went walking;

We got talking,
Horse and I.
"Where are you going to, Horse, today?"
(I said to the Horse as he went by).
"Down to the village to get some hay.
Will you come with me?" "No, not I."

I met a Woman as I went walking;

We got talking,
Woman and I.
"Where are you going to, Woman, so early?"
(I said to the Woman as she went by).
"Down to the village to get some barley.
Will you come with me?" "No, not I."

I met some Rabbits as I went walking;

We got talking,
Rabbits and I.
"Where are you going in your brown fur coats?"
(I said to the Rabbits as they went by).
"Down to the village to get some oats.
Will you come with us?" "No, not I."

I met a Puppy as I went walking;

We got talking,
Puppy and I.
"Where are you going this nice fine day?"
(I said to the Puppy as he went by).
"Up to the hills to roll and play."
"I'll come with you, Puppy," said I.
Friends
By Abbie Farwell Brown
How good to lie a little while
And look up through the tree!
The Sky is like a kind big smile
Bent sweetly over me.

The Sunshine flickers through the lace

Of leaves above my head,
And kisses me upon the face
Like Mother, before bed.

The Wind comes stealing o'er the grass

To whisper pretty things;
And though I cannot see him pass,
I feel his careful wings.

So many gentle Friends are near

Whom one can scarcely see,
A child should never feel a fear,
Wherever he may be.

Dirty Face
By Shel Silverstein
Where did you get such a dirty face,
My darling dirty-faced child?
I got it from crawling along in the dirt
And biting two buttons off Jeremy's shirt.
I got it from chewing the roots of a rose
And digging for clams in the yard with my nose.
I got it from peeking into a dark cave
And painting myself like a Navajo brave.
I got it from playing with coal in the bin
And signing my name in cement with my chin.
I got if from rolling around on the rug
And giving the horrible dog a big hug.
I got it from finding a lost silver mine
And eating sweet blackberries right off the vine.
I got it from ice cream and wrestling and tears
And from having more fun than you've had in years.
THE LEGEND OF RICE
When the world was still new, the rice plant has no value. It was just a mere grass. It has no grain
or fruit. It doesnt do anything but to kiss the wind all day long.

One day, it happened that the Chinese goddess Kuan-yin went down to visit the Earth. In her
excursion, she saw that everywhere in the four corners of China are people dying of hunger. Her
soft heart cannot endure the pain and poverty that she sees and it seems as though her heart will
melt with pity. She took a deep breath and said, Aiya, Ai-ya, I need to act and help these
people.

She silently observed her surroundings. She took interest in a worthless rice plant which sprouted
in the alley. She approached it and said, I will use this humble plant to help my poor people.

She opened her robe and exposed her white bosom. She squeezed her right breast with her hand
and let out drops of milk of life to the rice plants panicle. She also squeezed her other breast and
let the milk drop on the plants empty hulls.

She squeezed her breasts until theres no milk coming out anymore. She prayed, Oh merciful
heaven, bless me with a little more drops of milk. She massaged and squeezed her breasts again
until she saw that some drops are coming out but it is mixed with blood. The goddess gave all
that she can. She was glad to see that all the panicles became full of rich rice grains.
Oh noble plant, may your panicle overflow. May we harvest a lot to eliminate hunger in this
land. After she has done her duty, she happily came back to the heavens.

This is how the rice plant yielded its first rice grains. There are varieties which produce white
rice as white as Kuan-yins milk, and there are also some which yields reddish rice as a reminder
of the blood mixed with the last drops of the merciful goddess milk.

THE LEGEND OF ILOG PASIG

Ilog Pasig is one of the most famous rivers in the Philippines. It can be found in the city of
Manila. At present, this river is notorious for being filthy and murky, but there was a time when
Pasig River is pristine and is a romantic place for lovers

Long ago, there were two young lovers. The girl was a Filipina named Paz and the gentleman
was Spanish. One night, they decided to boat along a quiet and deep river. The boy was the one
paddling the boat while Paz was calmly seated in front of him. The two romantically sailed the
length of the river under the moonlight and along the cool breeze.
As they passed along floating water lilies, Paz extended her am and reached for a flower. The
guy, not noticing what Paz was up to, got off-balanced and fell into the waters. The guy doesnt
know how to swim so every time his head will pop above the water, he shouts, Paz, sigueme!
Paz, sigueme! which means, Paz, rescue me! Paz tried hard to reach for her lover but she did
not succeed. At the last time the boy emerged, all he managed to say was, Paz, sig

The tragic incident spread among the people and from then on, this river was called Pasig.
THE LEGEND OF SAMPALOK LAKE

In the province of Laguna in the Philippines, there is a lake called Sampalok (tamarind) Lake. It
is said that this lake does not exist during the early times. This is how the lake emerged:

In the time that Magellan has just discovered the Philippines, a wealthy couple from San Pablo,
Laguna owns many land, fruit-bearing trees, and a very beautiful house. One of the trees that
they possess is a sampalok (tamarind) tree that bears very sweet fruits. This tree is the main
source of their fortune.
Though this couple is famous for their wealth, they are more famous for their bad attitude. They
are selfish and greedy, and all they think about is getting money by selling their properties.
Because of this, the townspeople despise them. However, they still come to them to buy the
extraordinarily sweet tamarind fruits.

One day, an old beggar with torn clothes went to the couple and begged for food. She was
shivering from hunger. The two just scornfully stared at the old woman and then ignored her.
The beggar continued to beg for food but the couple just kept on ignoring her.
Your wickedness is unbelievable! exclaimed the old beggar. Punishment from the heavens
must be brought upon you! then the beggars face suddenly lifted up.

The couples faces turned pale. They wanted to scream but they couldnt. All you wealth will
disappear! the old lady declared as she tapped her cane against the sampalok tree. The old lady
disappeared and water sprung from near the sampalok tree and drowned all the couples
properties. The couple were not seen after that incident and the people assumed that they too
were drowned by the water along with their wealth.

The water that sprung from the sampalok tree eventually became a lake and was called
Sampalok Lake.
 RHYMES
Shall I compare thee to a summers day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summers lease hath all too short a date:
(Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare)

Keeping time, time, time,

As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells
Of the bells, bells, bells
To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells, bells, bells
To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.
(The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe)

Fate hired me once to play a villains part.

I did it badly, wasting valued blood;
Now when the call is given to the good
It is that knave who answers in my heart.
(Between the Acts by Stanley Kunitz)

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
(Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost)

Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?

Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!
One for the master, one for the dame,
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane.
RHYMES
 SHORT
STORIES
POEMS
LEGENDS
 PROJECT
IN ENGLISH
KHEN A. ROSALES
GRADE IV-OBEDIENCE