A wise teacher once brought balloons to school, told her pupils to blow them up and write their name on one. After the children tossed their balloons into the hall, the teacher moved through the hall mixing them all up.

The kids were given five minutes to find the balloon with their name on it, but though they searched frantically, no one found their own balloon.

Then the teacher told them to take the balloon closest to them and give it to the person whose name was on it. In less than two minutes, everyone was holding their own balloon.

The teacher said to the children, “These balloons are like happiness. We won't find it when we're only searching for our own. But if we care about someone else's happiness...it will ultimately help us find our own.”

Source: Unknown

A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a rat trap. Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning;

"There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!"

Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.

A little boy is on his knees scooping and packing the sand with plastic shovels into a bright blue bucket.

Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks will be bridges. A sand-castle will be built.

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic.

A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.

A long , long time ago, the world was without stories. Winters were cold and when the wind piled the snow against the longhouse, the people were sad.

One cold winter day, a young boy went hunting. The snow made the hunting easy and he shot several partridges then he sat down on a large rock to rest. A voice rumbled from the rock, "Listen, I will tell you a story."

The boy was startled and jumped to his feet and looked all around but there was no one. He was puzzled and sat down on the rock again. Again a voice from the rock rumbled, "Listen, I will tell you a story." The boy looked around and called out "Who are you? What is a story'"

A wise elderly master grew tired of his Apprentice complaining about his misfortunes, and so, one morning, he sent him for some salt. When the Apprentice returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.

"How does it taste?" the master asked. "Bitter," spit the Apprentice.

The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake, and once the Apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."