The Fly

A fly had fallen into a pot of meat. While drowning in the sauce, she cried to herself:
- I've eaten, I've drunk and I've had a bath. Death can come. It doesn't matter to me.

The irresponsible person doesn't mind failure, as long as he is having a good time.

The travelers and the plane tree

Two travelers, worn down by the heat of the sun, decided to throw themselves on the ground to rest under a large plane tree. While they were resting under its shade, one man said to the other:
-"What useless tree this is! I see that it doesn't bear fruit, and I think we cannot use its wood for anything."
-"Don't be so ungrateful," rustled the tree in reply. "I am being extremely useful, shielding you from the hot sun. And you dare to call me useless and unhelpful!"

Always, we must appreciate and show gratitude for the goods received. Big or small, they're all for our benefit.

A best friend story

A story tells that there were two friends walking through the desert, and at one point during the trip, they had an argument.

The one who was offended, wrote in the sand:

-"Today, my best friend slapped me in the face."
They went ahead and reached an oasis where they decided to take a bath.
The one who had been slapped and hurt, started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he had recovered from the near drowning, he took a stiletto and wrote on a stone:

-"Today, my best friend saved my life."
Intrigued, the friend who had saved him asked:
-"Why after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone?"
With a huge smile on his face, he replied:

-"When you are offended by a great friend, you should write it in the sand, where winds of forgetfulness will take care of erasing it; on the other hand, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind in the world will be able to erase it."

Do not value the things that you have in your life. But value who you have in your life.

The master and the scorpion

An Asian master who was watching a scorpion drowning, decided to take it out from the water. But when he did, the scorpion stung him. 
From the effect of the pain, the master dropped the animal, which again fell in the water drowning. The master tried to get it out again, and the animal stung him again.
Someone who had observed everything, approached the master and said:
-"Excuse me, but you are stubborn! Don't you understand that whenever you attempt to pull it out from the water, it will sting you?"
The master replied:
-"The nature of the scorpion is to sting, and this will not change mine which is to help."
And then, with the help of a leaf, the master drew the animal from the water and saved its life.

Do not change your nature if someone hurts you;just take precautions.

The gift of insults

Near Tokyo there lived a great Samurai, now very old, who used to teach Zen Buddhism to young people. In spite of his age, legend told that he was still able to defeat any adversary.

One afternoon, a warrior, who he was known for his complete lack of scruples, showed up there. He was famous for using techniques of provocation: he waited until his adversary made the first move, and being gifted with an enviable intelligence which allowed him to repair any mistake, he counterattacked with lightning speed.
The young and impatient warrior had never lost a fight. Knowing the Samurai's reputation, he had come to beat him, and increase his fame.
All of the students were against the idea, but the old man accepted the challenge.
Everyone went to the town square, and the young man started insulting the old master. He threw some rocks in his direction, spat in his face, shouted every insult he knew, and he even insulted his ancestors. For hours, he did everything he could provoke him, but the old man remained impassive. At the end of the afternoon, feeling exhausted and humiliated, the impetuous warrior left.
Disappointed by the fact that the master had received so many insults and provocations, the students asked him: 
-"How could you bear such indignity? Why didn't you use your sword, even knowing that you might lose the fight, instead of being a coward in front of us all?"
-"If someone comes to you with a gift, and you don't accept it, who does the gift belong to?" Asked the Samurai.
-"He who tried to deliver it," - replied one of his disciples.
-"The same goes for envy, anger and insults." - said the master. -"When they are not accepted, they continue to belong to the one who carried it with them."

Author: Paulo Coelho