An Ice Cream Cup

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee
shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
“How much is an ice cream sundae?”
“50 cents,” replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it.
“How much is a dish of plain ice cream?” he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table
and the waitress was a bit impatient.
“35 cents,” she said brusquely.
The little boy again counted the coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished
the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed.
When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at
what she saw.
There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were 15 cents – her tip.

Moral of the story is, never treat someone as less. 

The Mango Tree

Once upon a time, there lived a big mango tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it every day.
He climbed to the tree top, ate the mangoes, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.
Time went by… The little boy grew, and he no longer played around the tree.
One day, the boy came back to the tree with a sad look on his face.
“Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy.
“I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”
“Sorry, I don’t have money… but you can pick all my mangoes and sell them so you will have money.”
The boy was so excited. He picked all the mangoes on the tree and left happily. The boy didn’t come back. The tree was sad.
One day, the boy grown into a man returned. The tree was so excited.
“Come and play with me,” the tree said.
“I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”
“Sorry, I don’t have a house, but you can chop off my branches to build your house.”
So the man cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn’t come back
afterward. The tree was again lonely and sad.
One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.
“Come and play with me!” The tree said.
“I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”
“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.”
So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and didn’t come back for a long time.
Finally, the man returned after he had been gone for so many years.
“Sorry, my boy, but I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more mangoes to give you.” The tree said.
“I don’t have teeth to bite,” the man replied.
“No more trunk for you to climb on.”
“I am too old for that now,” the man said.
“I really can’t give you anything… the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with sadness.
“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.
“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest. Come sit down with me and rest.”
The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled.
The tree in the story represents our parents. When we are young, we love to play with them. When we grow up, we leave them and
only come back when we need help. Parents sacrifice their lives for us.

Things aren't always what they seem

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. 
The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead the angels 
were given a small space in the cold basement. 
As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the 
younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren't always what they seem.” 
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. 
After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a 
good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in 
tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. 
The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel, “How could you have let this happen? The 
first man had everything, yet you helped him.” – she accused. “The second family had little but was willing 
to share everything, and you let the cow die.” 
“Things aren't always what they seem.” – the older angel replied. 
“When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. 
Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so 
he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I 
gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem.” 
Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way they should. If you have faith, 
you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until 
sometime later… 

Should you find it hard to get to sleep tonight, 
remember the homeless family who has no bed to lie in. 
Should you find yourself stuck in traffic, don’t despair, 
there are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard-of privilege. 
Should you have a bad day at work, 
think of the man who has been out of work for many months struggling to feed his family. 
Should you notice a new Gray hair in the mirror, 
think of the cancer patient in chem who wishes she had hair to examine. 
Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking, “What is my purpose?”, be 
thankful, there are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity. 

Finding Happiness

Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar.

Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within 5 minutes.
Everyone was frantically searching for their name, pushing, colliding with each other, and there was utter chaos.

At the end of 5 minutes, no one could find their own balloon.
Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.
The speaker began: This is exactly happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. 

Give them their happiness; you will get your own happiness.And this is the purpose of human life.