All that you need to know about books.: Right in the feels!

All that you need to know about books.: Right in the feels!: Sigh. Did you hear that? It's a loud sigh. the kind that erupts from deep down when we step back into reality after reading a book that ...

The Miracle of $1.11

Tess was a precocious eight year old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn’t have the money for the doctor bills and our house. Only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no-one to loan them the money. She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, “Only a miracle can save him now.”

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good.
Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
“And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,” he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick… and I want to buy a miracle.”
“I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist.
“His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”

"We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening a little. “Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”
The pharmacist’s brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does you brother need?”
“I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up. “I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”
“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago. “One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audibly. “And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.
“Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents – the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.” He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said, “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specialising in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
“That surgery,” her Mom whispered. “was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?”
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost… one dollar and eleven cents … plus the faith of a little child.

-Claimed to be a true story
-Author Unknown

Princess Violet

Once upon a time, there was a princess named, Avonuelle. Her favorite thing in the world to do was pick 

the violets up from the field and hold them to her heart, because she loved them so much, and she wanted to 

keep their softness and their beauty close to her heart forever. One day, a man came knocking at her door 

and said, "Avonuelle! I have some news for you! The Dorwid prince has come to our kingdom, and he 

wants to make you his bride!" So happy, she leapt up from her seat and came to the door. "Where is he?" 

she cried. "He is right here." "I love you! Of course I will marry you!" But their was one thing she could not 

leave behind, and that was her collection of violets. From then on, the prince called her, "Violet," and they 

were married, and they lived happily ever after. The End.

Contribution Credits: https://www.facebook.com/karyn.e.ward

The hungry Fox

Once upon a time, there lived a Fox called Bart. He was very hungry, and was looking for something to eat.

No matter how hard he tried, Bart could not find food. Finally he went to the edge of the forest and

searched there for food. Suddenly he caught sight of a big tree with a hole in it.

Inside the hole was a package. The hungry fox immediately thought that there might be food in it, and he

became very happy. He jumped into the hole and when he opened the package, he saw there were a lot of

food, bread and fruit in it!

Bart happily began to eat. After the fox had finished eating, he felt thirsty and decided to leave the trunk

and drink some water from a nearby spring. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not get out of

the hole. Do you know why? Yes, Bart had eaten so much food that he became too big to fit through the

hole.

The fox was very sad and upset. He told himself, “I wish that I had thought a little before jumping into the

hole.” He promised himself that he will not be greedy from the next time.

The man who saved the Moon

A kind-hearted man, looking down into a well, saw the reflection of the moon in the water. "Oh! My God!

The moon has fallen into this well!", he exclaimed, and hurried to fetch a hook tied to a long rope.Quickly,

he let the hook fall deep into the well, holding fast to the rope. The hook fell into the deep water, and caught

a stone. Thinking that he had got the moon, the man pulled up the rope with such a force that it broke and

he fell sharply down, flat on his back, nearly unconscious. The first thing he saw was the Moon, shining

brightly in the sky. The man groaned in pain, but said," I broke my back, but thank God, the Moon is saved."

An Ecstatic Elephant at Amber Fort, Jaipur

Happy Elephant waving its trunk

Dodo the Squirrel

It was a happy Sunday in the jungle. Everyone was getting ready for the party of Browny bear's birthday!
He had invited all his friends for the big birthday bash. He had lots of cakes, pastries, nuts and honey for all of them, and he was very excited. He was running around his home to decorate it and set the table with all the bananas, coconuts, apples and pies!

Squeaky and Squeako, the twin rabbits had also been invited, along with blacky Elephant, Thomas Tiger and Bumpy Deer and his family. Browny's best friend Dodo the Squirrel was also going to be there There were rumors that King Leo Lion might also join the party to have some fun!

The party began at 4 in the evening. Everyone was there on time. Everyone sang the birthday song, and wished Browny a very happy birthday. Then, they jumped on food! It was delicious! When they had had their fill, the rabbits started running around. They wanted to play the party games. On Blacky's idea, they started playing hide and seek. They pulled sticks, and it was Thomas's turn to seek. He turned around and started counting till 100. All the cute animals started running fast, looking for a place to hide.

A few trees away, Gogo crocodile and Bucky Fox were very angry because they had not been invited to the party. They were the troublemakers of the Jungle. Bucky was about to say something, but the rabbits running in the bushes caught his eye. His motioned to Gogo, and Gogo understood the plan at once.

Gogo sneaked up to the bushes, and hissed to the Rabbits, "Come, hide in my plastic bag! No one will find you here!". The rabbits agreed, and jumped in the bag. Before they knew anything, Gogo had sealed the bag and went back to Bucky. They were very happy to have ruined the party. However, they did not know that Dodo Squirrel had seen them kidnapping the rabbits.

                                           

Dodo knew that she could not run back for help, or these goons would disappear. She saw Bucky tell something to Gogo, and leave. Now the dumb Gogo was alone. Quickly, she came up with a plan. She ran up to him, panting, and told him that She saw Bucky telling Blacky, Thomas and Browny that Gogo had kidnapped the rabbits, and now they were coming to thrash him. Gogo got scared, and asked for help. She told him to leave the rabbits and beat Bucky instead. Poor Gogo. He fell for Dodo's plan. He released Squeaky and Squeako, and ran towards Bucky.

Bucky was angry when he saw Gogo. He asked Gogo what was wrong, but he didn't reply and jumped at him! They had a big fight! When they stopped, they saw that Blacky, Thomas and Browny were all standing there.

After Bucky and Gogo had apologized, Browny invited them to the party, and then they played together.

The intelligent Ant

Robert was a happy ant who lived peacefully in his ant colony under the ground. He used to work for the queen ant, and was friendly to everyone. Everyday with his friend Tony, he used to go to look for food to store in his house. They played together all the day, and carried the food they found on their back.

One day, they saw some children playing near the garden. They immediately rushed back to the colony to warn Queen Maria of the danger. They feared that the kids will step over the colony, and hundreds of ants will be killed. Queen Maria sent agent Bart to check the truthfulness of the report. When Bart, Robert and Tony came back, the children had gotten dangerously close to the colony.

Suddenly, Robert had an idea. He dashed towards the flower-shed and got under a beautiful bright blue flower, and pushed it on his back. He started walking towards the children. One of the kids saw a flower which was moving on its own. Amazed, he ran off after it, and his group followed. Robert's plan had worked! The children were now away from the colony.

He went back to the colony, and was astonished to see that everyone was clapping for him. Queen Maria greeted him, and said," You are the hero of this ant colony". Everyone cheered for the intelligent ant who had saved the day.

The Blind Tortoise with a Lamp

Once upon a time, there lived a blind tortoise called Steve in town of Maryland. He was very fond of taking a walk after dinner, and he always carried a lighted lamp in his hand every time he went out at night.

On one dark night he was going with his lighted lamp in his hand. Tom the rabbit was passing that way.

He saw Steve and made fun of him. He said," O Blind tortoise, why do you carry the lighted lamp?". "You are blind and cannot see anything!", he added, mocking Steve.

Steve politely replied, "This lamp isn't for me, but for the people who have eyes. I may not see you coming my way, but you will be able to see a blind tortoise coming your way. Tom felt ashamed and apologized immediately.

The Patient Little Girl

Once a food crisis broke out in a country. Each day the children of the city gathered at a rich man's house to get loaves of bread.
As soon as the servants brought out some bread, the children fought among themselves and struggled hard to get them. But there was a little girl who did not fight. She always waited patiently for her turn and got the smallest loaf last of all.
One day as usual, she got the tiniest loaf. When she cut it, she found two rupees in it. She hurried back at once to return the money.
The rich man was pleased at her truthfulness and honesty. He gave her not only those two rupees, but two rupees more as a prize.

Sam's Sandwiches

Once upon a time, there lived a gang of mice near a warehouse of rice. They had made their holes in the warehouse. When the workers left in the evening, the rats came out and started feasting on the bags of rice. 
The rats had become accustomed to this easy lifestyle. Because of sitting and eating everyday, they had become fat and lazy. 

Then suddenly one day, it started raining. The rain would not stop even after 4 days! The  warehouse was filled with water, and the bags of rice started rotting. The mice realized that they would need to leave he place and live somewhere else. Swifty the squirrel advised them to go to the nearby housing colony to find some work. They paid heed to it, and left the warehouse for good.

The gang of mice then went to the nearby colony, and were astonished! They had never seen such beautiful houses. They entered one house through an open door. They hungry rats pounced upon the delightful food! They were so happy! The mice started living happily in the house.

One day, 10 year old Sam noticed that someone had bit off pages of his notebooks. His father also noticed that the wires of his computer were cut. They realized that some mice must have entered their house. Sam and his father bought two wooden rods to get rid of the mice. When they got back, they saw that Sam's mom was standing at the gate, all tired and panting. She explained that she chased away all the mice on her own, because she saw them eating Sam's sandwiches. No one eats Sam's Sandwiches.
They hugged, and went inside talking of the sandwiches.  

The fox and grapes

One afternoon a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch. "Just the thing to satisfy my thirst," he said.
Taking a few steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. Again the fox took a few steps back and tried to reach them but failed yet again.
Finally, the fox the fox gave up and said, "They're probably sour anyway," and proceeded to walk away.

The Sun and the Wind

The sun and the wind were good friends. While talking, they got into an argument about who was stronger. They saw a traveler passing by, and made a bet. The one who is able to make the traveler take off his coat will be declared the winner. Wind went first. It started blowing harder and harder. The traveler started to feel cold. He held on his coat more tightly. Wind tried hard, but couldn't do anything!
Now, It was Sun's turn. He started to get hotter and hotter. The traveler took off his coat. The sun Exclaimed in joy, because he had won!

Old Farmer and His Sons

An old King worked hard all his life. He became weak with age. He wanted that his three sons live together happily even after his death.
But, his sons used to quarrel always and could never even stand each other. The King became worried, because the enemies would easily take advantage of a weak nation, and will destroy them, one by one.
The king wanted to teach them a lesson of unity by demonstrating an example. He called all his sons. Then he gave a single stick to his youngest son, and asked him to break it. The boy broke it easily. He asked the other two sons to do the same. They were confused but did it easily. 
 Then the farmer gave the bundle of sticks to his eldest and strongest son, and asked him to break it. He failed to do so, even with great effort. He asked the other two sons to do the same, who also failed.
Then the old man said to his sons, "My sons, you have seen that a single stick can be easily broken, but a bundle of sticks cannot be broken easily. So you understand that if you live separately after my death, your enemies will easily destroy you, one by one. But if all of you live together with unity, your enemies will not be able to do any harm to you." The three sons promised to live together in future, and the king was finally a happy man. 

Bad Company

Once there lived a wise man with his only son, Will. Both of them lived together, and loved each other. As time passed and Will grew older, he started to spend more time with his friends. Most of his friends were nice, but some had bad habits. With time, Will also developed some bad habits in their company.
Will's father was very worried about the habits of his son. He tried his best to mend his habits but he was not successful. 
Then one day, he thought of a plan to teach his son a lesson.
He went to the fruit shop and purchased some apples. He came back to his home and called his son. 
He asked his son to put all the apples in the fridge.
"But one of these is rotten, Papa!", Will exclaimed. His father told him not to worry, and follow his instructions. Will was confused, but did the same. After some days father asked will to bring the apples. As he opened the door of fridge he was surprised! All the apples had become rotten! He felt sad.
On seeing this, his father explained to him how one rotten apple had spoiled all the rest. Just like apples, one bad companion could spoil all others in case of children too. Father's advice got Will thinking. He gave up bad company and became good again.

The Lost Camel

Once two merchants lost a camel. They met a traveller and asked him if he had seen it. The man replied he had not." But was your camel blind in the right eye?" Said he to them.

"Yes, he was", replied the merchants. "Was it lame in one left foot?" The man asked again. "Cer­tainly it was", said the merchants.

"Was its front tooth missing"? said he to them." Indeed I" said they. "Was it loaded with honey on one side and with wheat on the other?" "That is just how it was loaded," they answered. "Please take us to it."

"But I have not seen your camel," said the man "and I do not know where it is" the merchants got angry and said, "Then how could you tell us so exactly everything about our camel?" "That is my secret" said the man.

The merchants took him to the king who asked him where the camel was. The man replied that he had not seen it. At this the king asked him how he knew so much about it.

The man answered that the camel had eaten grass only on the left side of the path. So he knew that it was blind.

The marks of its one left foot were faint. This showed that the camel was lame. While eating grass, it had left a little turf in the middle.

So he learnt that it had lost front teeth. There were ants carrying grains of corn on one side of the path and flies eating honey on the other. The king was satisfied with his explanation and let him go.

A Camel and Jackal

Once there lived a camel and a jackal.They lived near a river, and had become good friends.  One day the jackal came to know that there was a farm of ripe sugarcanes across the river. His mouth watered, but he could not cross the river himself. He thought of taking the help of the camel He went to camel and told him about the sugarcanes. The camel was also tempted to eat sugarcanes. They made a plan, and the camel agreed to carry the jackal on his back and cross the river.

Both of them reached the field, and started eating the sugarcanes. Then suddenly, the jackal started howling loudly. The camel panicked and asked Jackal not to howl. But, Jackal said that it was his habit to howl while eating sweets. Camel warned him, but Jackal didn't pay heed to him. The owner of the field came running and started beating the camel.

When the owner went away, both of them returned to the river. The camel asked the Jackal to get back on his back, so they could go back.  The jackal jumped on the back of the camel.

When they were in the middle of the water, the camel began to roll in the water. The jackal said, "Why are you rolling in the water?" The camel replied, "It is my habit to roll in the water after eating sweets ". The jackal could hardly save himself.

The Silver Key

It was a stormy night. A traveller reached an inn. As the hour was very late, he found the door locked from within. He knocked at the door.

The gate-keeper responded to the knock, saying, "I have lost the key and the door cannot be opened unless you have a silver key with you."

The traveller understood what he meant by the silver key. He im­mediately slipped a silver coin through the hole, and the door opened.

As soon as he got in, he said to the gate keeper, "I have left my box outside, please bring it." As the gate-keeper went out to bring the box, the traveller closed the door behind him.

The keeper asked him to open the door so that he may come in. Now the traveller replied from within, "I have lost the key and a silver key is needed to open the door." Soon the coin was pushed again through the hole and the dishonest man was let in.

The Monkey and the Crocodile

There was a tree on which many monkeys lived. In the nearby pond, a pair of crocodiles lived. One day, the female crocodile fell ill. The doctor said that only the heart of a monkey could cure the crocodile.

The crocodile offered each of the monkeys to accompany him for a joy ride in the pond. None of them agreed. Lastly, an old monkey agreed. The monkey enjoyed the ride.

When they were in deep waters, the crocodile told him his purpose. He said that he wanted the monkey's heart. The monkey said, "Please take me back. I have left my heart on the top of my tree. I can give it to you there". The crocodile took him back to the bank. The monkey went up the tree and disappeared.

A Fox and a Goat

A fox was walking near a well. Somehow by incident he slipped in. It was not a very deep well. He tried his best to get out but could not.

At that time a very thirsty goat passed by the well and saw the fox there. She asked the fox what he was doing there.

The cunning fox replied that he had himself jumped into the well. I find it very cool and pleasant. If you want to drink sweet and cold water, come down and experience the pleasure here.

Without thinking of the result she jumped into the well. The fox at once jumped on her back, and with another jump he was out of well. The fox smiled at the poor goat and went his way leaving behind the goat to repent.