Why a Zebra has stripes? One day Mr. and Mrs.

Zebra were going to a party with all their other Jungle friends. Mr. and Mrs. Zebra both wanted to look very special, but in a different kind of way. Mr. Zebra painted the front part of himself green, like the lizard. You see they were all white back then. Mrs. Zebra painted the back part of herself a tan color, like the lion. Mr. Zebra didn't like the way that Mrs. Zebra looked. Mrs. Zebra didn't like the way that Mr. Zebra looked. So they talked about it and decided that they liked black, as their color. Mr. Zebra painted the front part of himself black. Mrs. Zebra painted the back part of herself black. They looked at each other and both had an instantaneous thought, "Stripes!" They said together. They each painted them selves in stripes and went to the party later that night. Everyone at the party loved their new creation of an outfit! They got plenty of compliments and were even complimented by the king of the jungle, Mr. Lion. He thought they were very creative. The party ended late that night, but talk of Mr. and Mrs. Zebra's outfit kept going well into the morning. Soon all the Zebras, in the jungle, were painting them selves in stripes. Soon Zebras all around the world were doing it to. After awhile Mr. and Mrs. Zebra got tired of stripes. But when they tried to wash off their stripes they found that the paint had sunk in well beyond their fur. They couldn't get it off for anything. Soon all the Zebra's started getting tired of stripes. But they couldn't get their's off either! To this day the Zebras still can't get their stripes off. That is why the Zebra has stripes!

Why the Flamingo Is Pink?

"Oh I hate being brown!" cried Sam the flamingo. Why can't I be pink? It's such a pretty color and not so dull and ugly as this brown. One day Sam and his brave flamingo friends said they were going to the dangerous pink lagoon. It had pink crocodiles which liked to eat tasty, brown flamingos. It was very scary, but it was their only chance to become pink. They moved quickly toward the lagoon. Sam's heart pounded with fear as they got closer. Sam said, "On the count of three, we will all jump in together. ONE... TWO... THREE... JUMP!" cried Sam. They all jumped in together. They stayed in as long as they dared. Then, they jumped out. "We're pink!" cried the flamingos. We're actually pink! I like your feathers. Look at mine, they're pink, too." They talked excitedly about their feathers all the way home. The next day, they were brown! "Oh no, we're this ugly brown again." When their feathers dried over night, they turned back to the ugly brown. It was a very sad day for the flamingos. "How are we ever going to stay pink?" they asked. Sam looked up at the sky to make a wish and noticed there were pink clouds. The clouds turned a darker pink as the day went on. Soon, it started to spit rain, but it wasn't normal rain, it was pink rain!

It rained harder and harder. All the animals scurried to their homes so that they would stay dry. The flamingos refused to seek shelter because it was another chance to become pink. The rain continued for seven days and six nights. All the animals stayed in their burrows, nests and homes. Only the flamingos stayed outside. Finally, the rain stopped. The flamingos started cheering because they were all pink. Even after their feathers dried, they were still pink. And, that is why the flamingo is pink today!! How the Cockatoo got its Crest Once upon a time the cockatoos were all white. The othe birds teased the cockatoo for he had no colours. One day he found three coloured feathers. He picked them up and put them in his tail. When he went walking the other birds noticed that they were their feathers. They started to pluck out the cockatoo's feathers. The cockatoo flew and flew and hit the sun. The sun was so hot that it made his crest yellow and he came shooting back to earth. That's why cockatoos have yellow crests. If you look in the trees and see a cockatoo you'll notice that its crest is yellow How the Humming Bird got its Hum Once upon a time in the the middle of the forest there lived a prince who lived with his father the king. They lived in a castle at the edge of a river. The prince had a wonderful singing voice. Usually he'd go out into the forest and sing. And usually the animals would get attracted to his voice. Now the keeper of the animals did not like the animals going out into the forest. He had to do something about the prince. For many years he had been thinking, and thinking, and thinking. Finally he thought of something. After the prince was old enough his father asked him to marry Sabrina. The prince did not know what to say, but he did not want to hurt his father's feelings, and he did think that Sabrina was a nice girl. So he agreed. Meanwhile the keeper of the animals watched the prince come out of the castle. He aimed his gun and fired at him and killed him. The animals cried. The prince went into heaven. Two angels appeared out of nowhere and said "We will let you back on earth but we will have to make one small change". Before his eyes he was back on earth but then he looked at himself, he was covered in feathers! The angels had turned him into a hummingbird. And that's how the hummingbird got its hum.

How Tortoise Lost His Tail and Teeth When someone dies, people thought their spirit went from our world into the land of souls where they found eternal life. They thought there was a bridge over the river of death, stretching between the two worlds. But no one really knew what happened. A long time ago, a man who had died, woke up and was glad to be alive again. He had quite a story to tell. I walked a long way, he said, until I came to a wide, rushing river. I knew I had to cross it, but the banks were steep and the water was very deep. Then further down I saw a narrow bridge and a large mound on the other side. I stepped onto the bridge and it moved. It was alive. The mound was a gigantic tortoise, and the bridge was its long tail. I ran forward, trying to cross as fast as I could, but the tortoise lifted its head and looked at me. It had red gleaming eyes and rows of sharp teeth. It moved its shell and lifted its tail, and I fell into the water. The water sucked me under. It was like a dark tunnel, with sharp rocks that cut and bruised me. But then I came to the surface again and saw people on the banks of the river on our side, hunting and gathering wood. I thought I knew some of them friends whod died earlier. Maybe they were resting on their way to the land of souls. Or they couldnt get across either. The river swept me on again, out to sea. The waves were huge but the salt water healed my wounds and the tide carried me to land. I woke up on a beach, sheltered by cliffs. I found drinking water and food and I rested. When I was stronger I climbed up and used the sun to guide me home. The people listening to his story were amazed and worried. What can we do? one of them asked. How can we reach the land of souls when its time for us to die, if that monster tortoise stops us? Someone suggested they should ask the medicine man, who lived near their village. He thought about the problem. A brave man, who has strength and power from our great spirits, must cut off the tortoises tail. Everyone looked at him, relieved that he was the talked to the great spirits and not them. All right, he said. I will send my spirit to the river and find the tortoise. When I fall asleep, to let my spirit wander, put my axe in my hand so Im ready to fight. PARABLES The Obstacle in our Path In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the kirig's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder

from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. Frog in a Milk-Pail A frog was hopping around a farmyard, when it decided to investigate the barn. Being somewhat careless, and maybe a little too curious, he ended up falling into a pail half-filled with fresh milk. As he swam about attempting to reach the top of the pail, he found that the sides of the pail were too high and steep to reach. He tried to stretch his back legs to push off the bottom of the pail but found it too deep. But this frog was determined not to give up, and he continued to struggle. He kicked and squirmed and kicked and squirmed, until at last, all his churning about in the milk had turned the milk into a big hunk of butter. The butter was now solid enough for him to climb onto and get out of the pail! "Never Give Up!" Who Is The Rich Man? One day a wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country so that the son could see how the poor lived. They spent a day and a night at the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "Very good, Dad!" "Did you see how poor people can be?" "Yeah!" "And what did you learn?" The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the house; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have the whole horizon." When the little boy was finished, the father was speechless. His son then added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!" The Troubles Tree The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stoney silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. After opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward, he walked me to my car. We passed the tree, and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. "Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning, I pick them up again." "Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."