隽永英文小故事 (14)
The Plum Stone
One day Vanya's mother bought some plums from the market. She washed them and left them on a big plate in the centre of the dining table. Mother wanted to give the plums to the children after dinner. It was not every day that plums were bought.
Vanya had not tasted plums all his life and was very curious about it. First he sniffed the fruit, wrinkled his nose at the pleasing smell, and decided that he liked the fruit. Dinner time was still a long way off and he did not have the patience to w ait. He just could not resist his temptation. “No one will notice if I take one,” he said to himself.
As soon as he was alone in the room, he seized a big plum and ate it quickly. Vanya exclaimed, "Hmmm.. plums are very delicious indeed!"
When it was time for dinner, his mother counted the plums and found that one was missing. She informed her husband about it. The whole family sat around the table to eat and in the course of the meal, father enquired, "Well children, have any of you eaten a plum without your mother's knowledge?" Each child answered in turn, "No." Vanya’s heart began to beat very fast and he blushed. He lied that he did not eat the plum.
Suddenly, somebody from the deck called out, "Shark! Shark!"
Then father said, "It is wrong to steal a plum, but that's not all. You see, plums have small stones and if you swallow a stone, you will die the next day. That's what really bothers me."
Vanya became very upset and blurted out, "I did not eat the stone. I threw it out of the window."
The entire family burst into peals of laughter, Vanya felt guilty and ashamed. He wept bitterly.
His parents hugged him. His mother consoled him and said, "Your father presented the matter in such a way that you would come up with the truth." She added, “God loves children who are honest."
Vanya apologized to the whole family and promised that thereafter he would speak only the truth.
After all, honesty is the best policy!。
隽永英文小故事 (140)
The EsquimauxWHEN winter comes, we think it necessary to have a good, tight, warm house to keep out the cold and make us comfortable.The dwelling of the Esquimaux is built of blocks of clear ice cemented together by pouring melted snow between them, and a thinner one is inserted for a window to let in light, not to see through. The beds are made of moss and the soft fur skins of the polar bear. Long ropes of sinews stretched overhead form a place to put their clothing and weapons for hunting and fishing. Their only fire is a stone lamp with whale-oil and twisted moss for a wick. This does not afford enough heat to melt the ice walls. Over the lamp they slightly cook their bear and walrus meat. Sometimes food is so scarce that, when a hunt has been successful, they will tear off strips of flesh and devour it raw.An Esquimaux baby or child never knows the taste of candy or sweets as you do ; a clean piece of fat is their especial treat. They never see a doll, ribbon, laces, toys or picture-books; their only trinkets of adornment are a few beads purchased from voyagers, and these they prize as you would a costly necklace. They never heard of a concert, theater, or May-day picnic; never saw beautiful flowers on tree or grass, and very seldom go visiting, so have few acquaintances. These children know nothing of cake, pie, fruit or nuts, or change of fashions. I don't suppose they have soap, either.The mothers carry their babes in something such cradles as Indians use, only the child is wrapped in many furs. An Esquimaux baby has to be very good, for its mother has to sew skins instead of cloth, with a large bone, home-made needle, and sinews for thread, and it must be slow and heavy work, but she does it so neatly that the clothing is water-tight. She also mends the fishing lines, boats, and leather covering of the little pointed boats that sometimes get torn on the floating ice. Only one person can sit in a boat, and he squeezes into that through a place left in the center, sitting so securely that boat and man seem as one.They travel over the ice in sleds drawn by dogs, and go very swiftly. They are not as kind to these useful and faithful creatures as they should be. Many children are ungrateful and unsatisfied with what indulgent parents have provided for them, but they would be sorry to change places with the little Esquimaux. How thankful we should be for the changing seasons of spring, summer, fall and winter, for all the beauties and bounties they afford, and for the comforts and advantages of civilized life ! Whether we possess them or not, much is learned by seeing the productions of wealth, labor, and art. Everyone who makes a beautiful thing or teaches an idea, benefits the multitude as well as himself. We should be thankfulfor the houses of worship and education, and the knowledge that floods the earth through the power of the printing-press, all of which is unknown to the little Esquimaux. The poorest child has reason to be thankful that he was not born to dwell in the almost perpetual desolations of snow and ice. Yet they have a sort of enjoyment in their way, and do not murmur that their lot is so hard. Perhaps, sometime, God will bring them forth to a better state of existence upon this earth, for they too are his children. I would like to see one of these poor creatures brought from that solitude and taken from one place to another, from the great busy wharves into the wonderful manufactories of cities, the beautiful parks, and the fresh country farms. How I would love to witness their surprise and delight !When you have a " Merry Christmas " or other happy time, think of the little Esquimaux, and thank God that you were born in a pleasant part of the world, and brought to a knowledge of His greatness, His manifold works, power and love.。
隽永英文小故事 (15)
SpycatSpycat is a cat-and-mouse chase tale. Once upon a time, a Spycat was approached by a group of people. The Spycat was very brilliant and sharp. People approached the cat to trap Ratty, the villain who ruins the life of people. Spycat agrees to help the people and catch the rat.The villain ratty is also brilliant and makes plans to escape from the traps set by the people. Spycat sets out to catch Ratty and he finds clues at different places. The cat should join the pieces of clues that provide a link to arrive at the whereabouts of the rat.Spycat starts his journey to trace the rat. He visits many countries and cities and the important landmarks of the cities. For instance, he flies to Egypt and sees the great pyramids, he goes to Paris and wonders at the marvel of the Eiffel tower and much more.Now, the climax. Spycat collects all the clues and almost reaches the hideout of the villain rat. Is he able to trap the rat? Watch the story!Besides the cat and mouse chase story, this animated story for kids, helps children learn about different places, important cities and the landmarks or important identity of different places.The story is available in video and flash format. You can read the story along with your kids.。
隽永英文小故事 (9)
Ramu and the MangoesA rich man lived in a small town in Tamil Nadu. One day he brought home two large and juicy mangoes. He gave them to his servent and said, “ Here Ramu, take these to the kitchen and cut them. Make two cup of coffee too. A friend of mine will be coming soon. Make the mangoes and coffee when he comes,”Ramu took the mangoes to the kitchen and cut them with a knife. Then, to make sure they were not sour, he put one piece in his mouth. Ah, how sweet it tasted! If I eat just one more piece, the master will never know,” he thought. He put one more piece into his mouth, one more… In a few minutes, the plate was empty!Ramu felt a little frightened. The master was sure to beat him. Just then he heard his master calling, “Ramu, have you cut the mangoes ? Keep the coffee ready too. My friend will be here any minute.”Poor Ramu. What was he to do now ? He had already eaten up the mangoes. He thought quickly, and got an idea. “Oh master,”he replied. “The knife is blunt. I can’t cut the mangoes with it.”“You fool! Why didn’t you tell me earlier ?” the master shouted. “Bring the knife here. I’ll sharpen it for you.”Ramu took a large and blunt knife from the kitchen and gave it to his master. While the master was busy sharpening it, Ramu quietly went out of the house. He saw his master’s friend coming up the road. Ramu ran to meet him,. “Sir, sir,” he said to the friend, “have you had a fight with my master ? He says that he will cut off both your ears !”The friend stared in surprise. “Fight ?” he said. “We didn’t really have a fight. But yesterday when he came to my house, I put on his chappals by mistake. Now why should he want to cut off my ears for a little thing like that?”“I’m telling you, Sir, he wants to cut off your ears.” Ramu said again. “If you don’t believe me. you can see for yourself. But mind, don’t let him catch you!”The friend crept up to an open window and saw the master of the house sharpening a big knife. “My goodness!” he cried. “He really wants to cut off my ears! I had bette r run away before he sees me.” He turned round and ran back the way he had come.Ramu then ran to his master crying, “Master, master, your friend has taken both the mangoes. There he is, running away!”The master looked up and saw his friend running away at top speed. He rushed out and ran after his friend. “Stop! Stop!” he shouted. “Keep one of them if you like, but let me have the other one!” The friend looked back and saw the master running after him with a big knife in one hand. He screamed in terror. Doubling hisspeed, he vanished in the distance.The master soon gave up the chase and went back to his house. Calling Ramu, he said, “I never knew how greedy this man was, and a thief too! Thank you for telling me.” He then went out and came out with two m ore large and juicy mangoes. Giving them to Ramu, he said, “Here Ramu, you eat one. And cut the other one for me.”。
隽永英文小故事 (151)
The Dead PedestrianShe was 31 years old, a seamstress and the mother of two children. Her husband is a mechanic. On a sunny morning, Vicky was walking to work. While in the crosswalk at Wilshire and Hamilton near Koreatown, Vicky was run over by a yellow school bus. An eyewitness said that the driver was laughing and talking on his cell phone. The bus was empty. Instead of stopping, the driver continued driving as if nothing had happened."How could he just drive away?" said the witness. "I ran over there to help the woman. She was quiet and still. There was a little blood under her nose. I thought she was just unconscious. The paramedics arrived; they tried to revive her, but then they just covered her body with a sheet. One of them said that she probably died instantly."Police had to notify Vicky's husband. He and Vicky had been in love since they were 16. His parents are dead; Vicky's parents live in her home country. He is now without his wife and his best friend. Their tenth anniversary was only a week away. Their plans for a house and a future were now finished. After dealing with his own grief, he had to somehow present the terrible news to their two children.The police found the bus parked a few blocks from the accident scene. The driver was gone. He had been transporting people to the annual Earth Day festival in Koreatown. About 30,000 people usually attend this event. A police spokesman said that the driver would be charged with murder. "If we could charge him with 'destroying a happy family,' we'd do that, too," the spokesman said.。
隽永英文小故事 (90)
Over the PorridgeTHEY sat down to eat their porridge. The naughty little girl turned her back upon her sister, and put a large spoonful into her mouth.“Oh oh oh!" she cried, "I have burnt my tongue."“Eat it slowly," said the good little sister. She to ok up her porridge carefully, and after blowing it very gently, and waiting for a minute or two while it cooled, ate it, and found it very nice."I shall not eat mine until it is quite cold," said Totsey, getting cross."Then it will be nasty," said the good little sister, still going on with her own porridge."Oh, dear," said Totsey, "if I eat it too hot it burns me, and if I eat it too cold it's nasty. What shall I do?“Take it as I do mine," said the good little sister. "It is the right way."“There are two wrong ways and only one right way; it isn't fair," sighed the naughty little girl. "And, oh! my porridge is so nasty." Then she asked, “Did you ever eat your porridge too hot and burn your tongue?""No," answered the good little sister; "I never ate my porridge too hot and burnt my tongue."“Did you ever eat your porridge when it was quite cold and very nasty?”"No," answered the good little sister again; "I never ate my porridge when it was quite cold and very nasty.""Well, I have," said Totsey ; " and so I know about two things that you do not know about." And the naughty little sister got up and walked away, and the good little sister sat still and thought about many things.。
隽永英文小故事 (108)
A Bird AttacksHeather loved the freedom of soaring high above the land and sea. She learned how to hang-glide from her boyfriend.Initially, she was scared to death. The first time he took her up, she hung on for dear life. But by the end of that flight, she was hooked. Half a year later, she bought her own hang-glider.Almost every weekend, she drove to Torrey Pines and leaped off the cliff. She could soar to La Jolla in less than five minutes. She liked to fly over the town. She would wave at kids pointing and looking up at her, and they would shout and wave back excitedly.One day she was returning to the launch site when she noticed a red hawk rapidly approaching her. It briefly disappeared. Then she heard its claws ripping the wing's fabric. It flew off. But the next thing she knew, it was flying straight at her. She turned out of its way, but it dove at her again. She was scared.She had to evade its attacks four times before she was able to land safely. Even after she landed, it circled overhead, as if daring her to fly again. What did I do to you, she wondered.As she drove home, she found out that she had been lucky. The radio news reported that in Australia, a hang-glider had been attacked by not one, but two, eagles.Maybe it was something in the air, Heather thought.。
隽永英文小故事 (1)
Elephant and HaresOnce there lived a big herd of elephants near a river. They would play, eat and rest near the river. The surrounding area had lush green grass and fruit trees, which served food for the elephants.However, when summer came, the river dried up. There were no more fruits or lush grass left.All the elephants reached out to their master and cried. “Oh! Our Lord! There is no water left in the river. Our infants are facing death and hunger. If we don’t move from here, surely we all will die.”The King replied, “I know a place, where there is adequate water. We all can quench our thirst there.”The very next morning, the elephants started their journey. After traveling for five days and five nights, finally, the elephants reached their destination. As expected, there was a large lake with plenty of water.However, there were large numbers of holes near the banks of the lake. These holes belonged to a family of hares who lived there happily.After seeing plenty of water, the elephants jumped and rolled with joy. In doing so, they destroyed the homes of so many hares. Many of the hares got injured. The hares who ran away managed to save themselves from their wrath. The elephants didn’t care about anyone. The hares found themselves helpless against the mighty elephants.After the elephants went back into the jungle, the hares had a meeting. They were aware that the elephants are very powerful and they cannot beat them physically. So, they decided that it's better to run away in order to save themselves from their wrath.However, one clever hare disagreed and said, “No, we can’t leave this place. This is our ancestral home. We have been living here from generation to generation. We must think of some plan to evacuate them forever. Though we are small, with a clever plan, we can expel them”.After explaining his plan, all the hares agreed to help. As per his plan, one hare went to the hilltop. When the king elephant arrived, a hare shouted, “You devil, you are forbidden to enter the lake. Yesterday, you cruel elephants trampled innocent hares with your foot. This lake belongs to the Moon-God.”“Your selfish act invited the ire of the Moon-God. I am the messenger of Moon-God, he has sent me to convey to you his message. If you want to survive, then don’t even think about coming near the lake again,” he further said.The king elephant replied, “I am sorry, for my sinful act. Oh, Moon-God! Please forgive me!!” The clever hare sitting on the hill replied, “If you want to beforgiven, come to the lake and ask me for forgiveness. You must also offer condolences to the king of hares.” The elephant king walked up to the lake, where saw the reflection of Moon.He immediately asked the MOON for forgiveness. He also said sorry to the king of hares, who was waiting for him, as per their plan.After that, the elephant group never come back to the lake again. The hares lived on happily forever.MORAL: From intelligence, one can overcome even the biggest problem.。
隽永英文小故事 (12)
Our Colorful WorldOur Colorful World is a colorful animated story for kids. Billy the smart yet naughty boy along with his pet dog, Splodge wants to explore the outer space hoping to find new kinds of animals. Billy and Splodge in the spaceship! Splodge drives the space ship and Billy explains what he saw in the outer space.They land on a planet where everything is red. The trees, plants, soil and everything is completely red! But they are unable to find any animal. Are they right? What do you and Splodge see?Next, they go to a yellow planet, everything on the planet, from clouds, stars and sand are tinted with yellow. Billy can’t find any a nimal, but you notice something there, right? The third place they go to is the pink planet. Billy again can’t trace any animals. However, you are with splodge right!The blue planet looks beautiful with the blue sand and the blue sun, which is very hot! Finally, they see one more planet and it is the green plant. The green plant is extremely cold. And something appears suddenly with a roaring sound, yes, a strange creature. Billy and Splodge are scared out of their wits.They rush back home. Finally, they see a planet with all colours, with lots of animals and plants. What is that?Kids will learn about different colors, animals as explained by Billy. Join Billy and Splodge on this spaceship journey to find strange creatures in outer space. You and Splodge can notice something that is missed by Billy.。
隽永英文小故事 (150)
Susan B. Anthony: The First Women's Rights ActivistLong before the women's movement of the late 1960s and 70s, lived a 19th Century woman by the name of Susan B. Anthony. Anthony was fighting for women's rights long before the social revolution 50 years ago. She was born in 1820 to a Quaker family. Quakers are a close-knit, faith-based group of people who live a very simple and strict life. It is a traditional way of life where gender roles are clearly defined.She spent much of her early life fighting for social change. She was an anti-slavery abolitionist, teacher, author, and was a leading figure in gaining women the right to vote, and to hold office. The suffrage movement was designed to gain voting rights for women who previously had no voice in government. Another social cause Anthony was heavily involved with was the anti-slavery movement. Anthony made her family farm available for like-minded people to have anti-slavery meetings. She was involved in the abolitionist movement until the end of the American Civil War, when slavery was abolished. She then turned her attention to women's rights.Anthony founded a weekly publication called "The Revolution", which she used to publish women's rights literature. The newspaper's motto was "Men their rights, and nothing more; women their rights, and nothing less."In 1872, after touring the country trying to build momentum for women's rights, she illegally voted in the presidential election. She was arrested and fined, even though she fought. Anthony never paid the fine. The incident served to bring more awareness to the struggle women had to endure. Anthony fought the good fight until her death in 1905 at the age of 84. She is honored today by the United States mint with the Susan B. Anthony $1 coin.。
隽永英文小故事 (139)
The Cave that TalkedKharanakhara was a lion who ruled over a certain part of a jungle.One day, he could not prey upon a single animal after wandering around the jungle in search of food. It was almost sunset, and the lion started returning in spite of being very hungry.On his way, he saw a big cave, and thought to himself, "It is for sure that some animal must be living in this big cave. Such a nice cave cannot be un-inhabitated. At sunset, whatever animal lives here is bound to return. I shall hide inside the cave and wait for my dinner to arrive."The cave was the home to a jackal, who arrived a while after the lion had hidden himself inside. While entering he noticed the footprints of the lion leading into the cave, but could not find any footprint coming out.He thought, "If a lion is indeed entered, I will be dead as soon as I enter. But, how can I be sure? There is no reason for me to stay away from my home if there is no lion inside. I must find out a way to confirm if the lion is still inside."The jackal thought of a plan, and standing in front of the cave, began to shout, "Hello Cave! Hello Cave! Can I come inside?"For some moment, he waited in silence and shouted again, "Hello Cave! Have you forgotten our understanding of all these years? I always wait for your reply before I enter. Why are you silent today? I shall then go to some other cave if you do not reply."On hearing this, the lion thought, "The cave must reply to the jackal when he returns at sunset. It is because I am inside that the cave is not replying today. I must invite on behalf of the cave, or the jackal will go away."So, the lion replied from inside the cave, "Hello Jackal, you may enter. It is safe inside."The reply was even more frightening due to the echo from the walls of the cave. The jackal at once knew that the lion was waiting for him to enter and make a meal out of him. He ran off, as fast as he could and saved himself.The wise indeed say:Use your tactics to protect yourself from destruction.。