Who deserves help?Many years ago, there lived a very rich man who wanted to do something for the people of his tow n. But first he wanted to find out whether they deserved his help. So he placed a very large stone i n the center of the main road into town. Then he hid behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man ca me along with his cow. "Who put this stone in the center of the road?" said the old man, but he did not try to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone and conti nued on his way. Another man came along and did the same thing; then another came, and another. All of them complained about the stone in the center of the road, but not one of them tried to remo ve it. Late in the afternoon, a young man came along. He saw the stone and said, "The night will be very dark. Some neighbor will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone. "The young man then began to move the stone. He pushed and pulled with all his strength to move it to one side. But imagine his surprise when under the stone he found a bag full of money and thi s message: "This money is for the thoughtful person who removes this stone from the road. That p erson deserves help."The bossThere was a guy who went into a shop to buy a parrot. There were three parrots in the shop. One was $5,000; another one, $10,000; and the third one, $30,000.The customer asked the owner,“How come this guy is $5,000? That‟s so expensive for this kind of parrot.”The owner said, “Because I have trained him and he can talk.”So the customer asked him, “How about this guy? What can he do that makes him so expensive?”The owner said, “Well, apart from talking, he can also do some amusing actions,like dancing and so on. That‟s why he‟s so expensive.”Then the customer said, “How about the third one? What can he do that makes him so expensive ”The owner of the shop said, “I don‟t know. Normally, I have never heardhim talk, nor dance, nor whistle, nor sing, nothing at all! But the other two call him “The Boss.”A mistakeA Mistake An American, a Scot and a Canadian were killed in a car accident. They arrived at the gates of heaven, where a flustered St. Peter explained that there had been a mistake. "Give me $500 each," he said, "and I'll return you to earth as if the whole thing never happened." "Done!" said the American. Instantly, he found himself standing unhurt near the scene. "Where are the other s?" asked a medic. "Last I knew," said the American, "the Scot was haggling price, and the Cana dian was arguing that his government should pay."MattMatt and his wife lived in the country. Matt was very stingy and hated spending money. One day a fair came to the nearby town. “Let‟s go to the fair, Matt,” his wife said, “We haven‟t been anywhere for a long time.” Matt thought about this for a while. He knew he would hav e to spend money at the fair. At last he said, “All right, but I‟m not going to spend much money. We‟ll look at things, but we won‟t buy anything.”hey went to the fair and looked at all the things to buy. There were many things Matt‟s wife wanted to buy ,but he would not let her spend any money. then , in a nearby field, they s aw a small airplane. “Fun flight!” the notice said, “$10 for 10 minutes.” Matt had never been in an airplane and he wanted to go on a fun flight. However, he didn‟t want to have to pay for his wife, as well.“I‟ve only got $10,” he told the pilot. “Can my wife come with me for free?” The pilot wasn ‟t selling many tickets, so he said , “I‟ll make a bargain with you. If your wife doesn‟t scream or shout, she can have a free flight.” Matt aGREed, and got into the small airplane with his wife. the pilot took off and made his airplane do all kinds of things. At one moment i t was flying upside down. When the plane landed , the pilot said, “O.K. your wife didn‟t make a sound . She can have her ride free.”“Thank you,” Matt said. “it wasn‟t easy for her, you know , especially when she fell out.”The dove and the antThe dove and the ant An ant was drinking at a river. Suddenly he slipped, and fell into the water . A dove took pity on him. She threw a small branch into the river. The ant seized the bough, an d swam back to the shore. A few days later, the ant saw a hunter aiming a gun at the dove. He bi t the man in the foot sharply. The man missed the shot, and the dove's life was saved. The dov e felt very grateful. She made good friends with the ant.The fox and the crowThe Fox and the Crow A Fox once saw a Crow fly off with a piece of cheese in its beak and settl e on a branch of a tree. …That‟s for me, as I am a Fox,‟ said Master Reynard, and he walked up to the foot of the tree. …Good-day, Mistress Crow,‟ he cried. …How well you are looking to-day: how glossy your feathers; how bright your eye. I feel sure your voice must surpass that of other birds, just as your figure does; let me hear but one song from you that I may greet you as the Queen of Birds.‟ The Crow lifted up her head and began to caw her best, but the moment she opened her mouth the piece of cheese fell to the ground, only to be snapped up by Master Fox. …That will do,‟ said he. …That was all I wanted. In exchange for your cheese I will give you a piece of advice for the future .‟Do not trust flatterers.‟The lion in loveA lion once fell in love with a beautiful girl, so he went to her parents and asked them to marry h er to him. The old parents did not know what to say. They did not like the idea of giving their daughter to the lion, but they did not want to enrage the king of beasts. At last the father said, "W e are glad to marry our daughter to you, but we fear that you might possibly hurt her. So if you re move your claws and teeth, we will give her to you." The lion loved the girl very much, so he tri mmed his claws and took out his big teeth. When he came to the parents again, they simply laughe d in his face, and beat him out of their house.The dog and the shadowIt happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in p eace. Now, on his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, h e looked down and saw his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking it was another do g with another piece of meat, he made up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the shad ow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was never seen more.。