By:
Teacher: Mohamed BITI
Ibn Tofail Middle School-DAKHLA
The English Club _2017/2018
1-The Foolish Fish
This Short Story The Foolish Fish is quite interesting to all people. Enjoy reading this story.
In a huge pond, there lived a lot of fish. They were arrogant and never listened to anyone. In this pond, there also lived a kind-hearted crocodile.
He advised the fish, “It does not pay to be arrogant and overconfident. It could be your downfall.” But the fish never listened to him. “There is that crocodile, advising us again,” they would say.
One afternoon, the crocodile was resting beside a stone near the pond, when two fishermen stopped there to drink water.
The fishermen noticed that the pond had a lot of fish. “Look! This pond is full of fish. Let’s come here tomorrow with our fishing net,” said one of them. “I am surprised we have not seen this place before!” exclaimed the other.
The crocodile heard all this. When the fishermen left, he slowly slipped into the pond and went straight to the fish. “You all had better leave this pond before dawn. Early morning those two fishermen are going to come to this pond with their net,” warned the crocodile.
But the fish just laughed and said, “There have been many fishermen who have tried to catch us. These two are not going to catch us either. Do not you worry about us, Mr. Crocodile,” they said in a mocking voice.
The next morning, the fishermen came and threw their net in the pond. The nets were big and strong. Very soon all the fish were caught. “If only we had listened to Mr. Crocodile. He had only wanted to help. For our arrogance we have to pay with our lives,” said the fish.
The fishermen took the foolish fish to the market and sold them for a good profit.
2-Foolish Imitation
This Short Story Foolish Imitation is quite interesting to all people. Enjoy reading this story.
Long ago, a hawk lived on the top of a hill. At the foot of the hill there was a banyan tree on which a crow used to perch every day. The crow was very foolish. He would imitate everyone.
The hawk atop the hill would fly down every day in search of food. The crow watched the hawk circling in the air for long hours and swooping down when he saw his prey. The hawk gifted with eyes that could see long distances would spot his prey from the hilltop and then fly down to pounce upon the prey.
The crow watched the hawk thinking, “Hunh! If the hawk can do that, I too can. What does he think? One day, I will show the hawk that I can do the same thing.”
A few days later, as the hawk was circling in the air, the crow decided to do the same. Suddenly a baby rabbit came out of the bushes. The hawk saw it and the crow too saw the rabbit.
Before the crow could move, the hawk swooped down, caught hold of the rabbit in his strong sharp talons and flew away. “Swoosh!” was all the crow heard as the hawk disappeared in the sky with his prey. “Hmmph! That is no great skill,” thought the crow, angrily.
Next moment he spotted a big fat mouse coming out of a hole. Without wasting time, the crow swooped down. Like the hawk he tried to catch the mouse in his claws.
But the mouse saw the crow and moved away, the crow crashed against the hill. “Eeeaaa!” cried the crow in pain.
Just then the hawk came flying down. “I hope, now you know it is not easy to hunt and it is not easy to imitate, either,” said the hawk and flew away.
Thereafter, the crow never imitated anyone in its life. It lived happily with the god-given abilities.
3-Bad Temper
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry. The wound is still there.”
A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.
4-African Stories
Let us enjoy reading this one of African Stories of Friends Forever.
A mouse and a frog were friends. Every morning the frog would hop out of his pond and go to visit his friend who lived in a hole in the side of a tree. He would return home at noon.
The mouse delighted in his friend’s company unaware that the friend was slowly turning into an enemy. The reason? The frog felt slighted because though he visited the mouse every day, the mouse on his part, had never made an attempt to visit him.
One day he felt he had been humiliated enough. When it was time for him to take leave of the mouse, he tied one end of a string around his own leg, tied the other end to the mouse’s tail, and hopped away, dragging the hapless mouse behind him.
The frog dived deep into the pond. The mouse tried to free himself but couldn’t, and soon drowned.
His bloated body floated to the top.
A hawk saw the mouse floating on the pond’s surface. He swooped down, and grabbing the mouse in his talons, flew to the branch of a nearby tree. The frog, of course, was hauled out of the water too. He desperately tried to free himself, but couldn’t and the hawk soon put an end to his struggles.
In Africa, they have a saying: ‘Don’t dig too deep a pit for your enemy, you may fall into it yourself.
5-Moment of Madness : A Chinese Story
Let us enjoy reading this Chinese Story of Moment of Madness.
There lived a man in the state of Qi who loved gold above everything else. Nothing else could excite him as much as the sight of gold.
One day while passing a jeweler’s shop he saw a manhandling a bar of gold. He rushed in, grabbed the gold, and ran.
But he was soon caught.
"Why did you steal the gold in front of so many people?" asked the judge.
"Your worship," said the man, "when I saw the gold I became blind to everything else. I did not see the people around."
6-Butterfly Lovers : A Chinese Story
Let us enjoy reading this Chinese Story of Butterfly Lovers.
Long ago in China, at a time when girls were expected to stay at home and learn household work while the boys went to school, a girl named Zhu conceived a desire to study.
Her family was wealthy and Zhu was pampered but her father did not want to go against tradition. When she pestered him he told her if she got admission into a school he would not stop her from studying. He was confident that no school would admit a girl.
But Zhu was resourceful. She disguised herself as a boy and managed to get admission into a school in the city of Hangzhou, where her aunt lived.
Every morning she would put on her disguise and go to school.
There was a boy named Liang in her class. The two were drawn to each other, and in course of time became good friends. As the months and the years passed they became inseparable companions, and Zhu realized that she was in love.
She wanted to stay with Liang the rest of her life. She thought of a plan. She told Liang that when they finished school, and he had got a job he should come to her house and ask her father for her sister’s hand.
Liang readily agreed. He too did not want to lose Zhu. If he married her sister they could continue to meet.
After finishing school, Liang lost no time in taking up a job, and when he had saved enough to get married he hastened to Zhu’s house.
Zhu saw him coming, and was overjoyed. It was a year since they had parted and she had missed him terribly. Unable to restrain herself she rushed out shouting, “I’m your friend, as you can see I’m a girl, I cannot live without you!"
Liang was dazed by the revelation, but soon recovered and caught Zhu in a warm embrace. Suddenly everything had fallen into place. Now he knew why he had felt such a strong love for Zhu.
Zhu took him to her father who listened attentively to what Liang had to say, but when the young man asked for Zhu’s hand, he shook his head.
7-Sound Advice : A Chinese Tale
Let us enjoy reading this Chinese Story of Sound Advice.
A young man was working in the family garden when his older brother called out to him to come in and have lunch.
“Wait a minute!" shouted the younger brother. “I’ll hide the spade and come!"
When he came in, his brother scolded him for his indiscretion.
“Did you have to shout like that for the whole world to hear?" He said, testily. “What is meant only for my ears should be heard by me alone!"
After lunch the young man went back to the garden to continue his work but returned almost immediately.
“I have something to tell you," he whispered to his brother, “Somebody has stolen the spade!"
- 8-Why Cats Chase Rats : A Chinese Story
- 9- The Rightful Owner:
- 10-Advising A Fool
- 11-The Arrogant Swans
- 12-The Holy Snake
- 13-The Cunning Bats
