Blessings in Disguise - Two Ancient Folk Tales from The Early Chinese Empire - Teacher Rachel from R.E.A.L Kids Ampang

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Story #1: Traveler Meets Old Woman

There was a traveler crossing a forest and he came to a river, where he met an old woman. The old woman did not know how to cross the river. Seeing that, the young man assisted her to cross safely to the other side of the river. He was surprised the old woman did not even have the courtesy to thank him for helping her but walked away right after she crossed the river.

While he is having doubt and almost cursing beneath his heart, suddenly a little boy turned up and said thanks. The boy told the young man that his grandmother is handicapped and could not express herself well. And in return, she asked the little boy to give the young man a horse as a token of appreciation.

Moral of the story: 

Resist the temptation to judge or conclude something too fast. You'll never know if something good is just awaiting at the next turn.

Story #2: The King and Prime Minister

Once upon a time, there was a King who enjoyed hunting. One day he went leopard hunting in the forest with his Prime Minister. He released a few arrows trying to hunt down a leopard but to avail. Ended up the leopard attacked him in return and bit off his finger.

The king was very angry and complained to his PM. Instead of trying to please his King, the PM said to the King, "Don't hate the leopard, maybe this could be a good arrangement." The King got more upset and he replied, "If I keep you in prison for one year, is it a good arrangement?" The wise PM replied calmly, "It's up to you, my King."

So the PM was kept in prison and the King started going out for hunting again with his other servants. Without his favorite PM, the King was not enjoying his hunts. 

One unfortunate day, the King ran into an tribe of natives and they captured him alive. It happened to be a Full Moon night and they needed to sacrifice someone to their gods for prayers. While praying, they found out that the King was not perfect. His finger was injured and they decided to let him go. The King found his way home and told this to his PM. Says the PM, "If you did not keep me in the jail, the tribal natives would have captured us both and I would probably have been sacrificed when they found out you had an imperfect finger due to injury."

Moral of the story: 

When faced with something negative, think along the good side. Maybe it could be a blessing in disguise.