The King, the Maiden and the Pumpkin....a tale from the Phillipines

One day in a time long ago, King Adoveneis went out into the plains to hunt for deer, and he accidentally became separated from his companions.

Wandering about, the king saw a hut that was surrounded by a garden. Tending the garden was a beautiful young maiden.

The king spoke to the maiden and said, "Tell me, lass, what plants are you growing here?"

She replied, "I am raising pumpkins and melons."

Now, the king happened to be thirsty, and so he asked the maiden for a drink. "We were hunting in the heat of the day," he said, "and I felt a terrible thirst come over me."

The maiden replied, "O illustrious king! We have water to be sure, but only an old, crude jar in which to serve it. Surely it is not right or worthy that your Majesty should drink from such a crude jar! Now if we had a jar of pure gold, in which we could pour water from a crystal clear fountain, then that would be a proper offering for your Majesty."

The king replied to the girl, "Never mind the jar: I'm terribly thirsty! I care not if the jar is old, provided that the water is cool."

The maiden went into the house, fetched the jar, and filled it with clear cool water. Presently the king drank his fill.

After he had finished, the king handed her back the jar. Then, suddenly, the maiden struck the jar against the staircase. It was shattered to bits.

The king wondered at this strange act, and in his heart he thought that the maiden had no manners at all.

He cried, "You see that I am a noble king, and you know that I hold the crown. For what possible reason did you shatter that jar, received from my hands?"

The maiden replied, "The reason I broke the jar, which has been kept for many years by my mother, O king! is that I should not like to have it used by anyone else after you, your majesty, has touched it."

Upon hearing that, the king made no reply. In his heart, he marveled at the actions of the woman and determined that she was a good, virtuous maiden after all. As he returned toward the city, a thought began to grow on him. He wondered whether the maiden was as clever as she was virtuous.

After some time, the king one day ordered a soldier to carry to the maiden a new jar, one with an opening at the top not much more than one inch across. The soldier's orders were to tell the maiden that the jar was from the king, and that she was to put an entire pumpkin inside the jar. The soldier was also to tell the maiden that she should not break the jar under any circumstance. Both the jar with the small opening at the top and the pumpkin must remain whole.

The maiden returned a message to the king that she was certain she could do what his majesty ordered, but that such a task might take some time. Indeed, it was several months before the maiden arrived at the palace. In her hands she held the same jar, and sure enough, an entire pumpkin sat inside of it. When the king closely examined the jar, he confirmed that the jar was the same one that he had delivered. What's more, he saw that both the jar and the pumpkin were completely undamaged. He asked the maiden to marry him on the spot, as she was as clever as she was virtuous, and she gladly accepted.

Later, in their royal chambers, when his new wife revealed her secret, the king laughed long and hard.

How did she do it???

She had placed a pumpkin bud, one that was still attached to a vine in the ground, inside the jar through its small opening. Over time the pumpkin bud grew into a full-sized pumpkin. When the pumpkin filled the jar, she simply cut off the stem and delivered the jar with the pumpkin to the palace.


story found here at Whootie Owl's Stories



Pumpkin Cake in a Jar

Makes 8 cakes

Ingredients:
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
2-2/3 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon each ground cloves, allspice, and cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
8 straight sided wide-mouth Pint Jars

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease 8 wide-mouth pint jars.

Cream the shortening and sugar together; beat in eggs, pumpkin, and water. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, spices, and baking soda together; add to pumpkin mixture and stir well. Stir in nuts.

Pour into jars, filling 1/2 full.

Make sure to keep the rims of the jars clean. Place jars on a cookie sheet to keep from tipping over while baking.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until done, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven. While still warm, place waxed paper on top of each cake and place lid on jar.

Cakes will slide out easily when they have cooled.

recipe found at YankeeMagazine.com

The Tiger finds a Teacher

China - A Han Story

Once upon a time, in the depths of a mountain range, there lived a tiger. He was a very strong tiger, but, thanks to the fact that he was unusually clumsy, he could hardly ever catch any animals.

One day he went out from his cave to look for food. As he went along he saw a cat speeding towards him, coming down the mountainside. The cat's swift and easy movements were the envy of the tiger, who thought to himself, "Wouldn't it be fine if I were as clever as that cat!"

He went to the cat and said pleadingly, "Honored Teacher Cat, could you teach me how to climb the mountain as well as you do?"

Knowing that tigers are wicked at heart, the cat was afraid that if she taught him all she knew, then probably her own life would be in danger. She therefore shook her head and said, rather hesitatingly, "I don't think I'd better. If I do, how do I know you'll not use your knowledge against me?"

The tiger behaved fawningly, and kowtowed deeply to the cat.

"Honored Teacher Cat," he said, "I am a man of my word. If you will be so kind as to teach me, I will not betray your goodness. And afterwards, if anyone should bully you, I shall crush him to death."

Hoodwinked by these honeyed words, the cat began to be sympathetic. She put her head on one side and said, "All right. If you really promise that, and are sure you will not be ungrateful, I'll teach you."

The tiger was overjoyed. He waved his tail and knelt down in front of her, saying, "In future, when I have mastered all the skills of climbing hills and catching animals, I shall never forget you, my teacher. May I fall into the deepest gully and be crushed to death myself if I am ever unkind to you!"

He kept his word for some time, and behaved to the cat as one should behave to a teacher. Every day from dawn to dusk the cat did her best to teach her pupil. Very soon she had taught him all her tricks except one. The tiger was very pleased with himself, and highly satisfied with the cat as a teacher.

Then one day, when he came to his teacher for further instruction, he looked at the cat's plump body, and his mouth began to water. What a good meal she would make! But the cat was fully aware of his bad intentions. She decided to give him a test.

"I have taught you all I know," she said. "You need no further lessons."

The tiger thought his chance had come. "Aha!" he said to himself. "This fat little cat will not escape my claws now!" But he thought he had better make sure that he had not misunderstood her, so he asked again, "Honored Teacher Cat, are you certain you have taught me everything?"

"Yes, everything!" said the wily cat.

An idea flashed into the tiger's head, and his eyes sparkled. "Teacher," said he, "what is that there on the tree?"

As the cat turned her head to look, the tiger, his jaws wide open and his claws out, threw himself upon her. But as quickly the cat ran up the tree.

The cat sat up in the tree, and said indignantly, "Well! You ungrateful creature! Your word is worth nothing. It was lucky for me that I had been prudent enough not to teach you how to climb trees. If I had taught you that, I see, you would have eaten me by now."

The tiger flew into a rage and flung himself repeatedly at the tree. But he did not know how to climb it. He tried to gnaw it down, but the trunk was so thick that he could make no impression on it. The cat skipped about in the branches, now and then tantalizing him by sitting down to wash, or look at him. The tiger grew angrier and angrier, and raged about, but there was nothing he could do. Finally the cat jumped easily to another tree, and then another, until she had vanished.

All the tiger's wicked schemes came to naught, and all he could do was to make his way up the mountain again.


Source: Folk Tales from China, Second Series (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1958), pp.078-81. No copyright notice.

story found here

Two Frogs

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Wait Til' Martin Comes......a spooky tale for Halloween

I tell a similar tale titled "Better Wait Til Martin Comes".
The kids and adults love it!!
This story is from a 1970's record album called "Scary Spooky Stories".
Happy Halloween!

A Birthday Story

It's my birthday!!!!
Yeah...really...it is!
So I decided to put up a fun story about a little girl looking for the perfect birthday gift.

Nikini was a little girl. She lived with her mother and father, in a house near the woods. She was very friendly with the animals in the woods. One evening, Nikini’s father came home with a big gift box.

“What’s that, Thatha?” Nikini asked her father.

“It’s your mother’s birthday tomorrow,” her father said.

“Oh!” Nikini was very upset.

“How could I forget my Amma’s birthday? She would never forget mine. So I should give her a wonderful gift,” Nikini thought.

“But what shall I give her?” She went into her bedroom and thought. She loved her mother so much that she couldn’t think of anything good enough for a gift for her. She thought and thought until nightfall, but she couldn’t think of anything.

Then a firefly, seeing Nikini by the window, flew to her. “Nikini, what are you doing in the dark?” the firefly asked. “Firefly, it’s my Amma’s birthday tomorrow. She loves me very much. She makes me very happy on my birthdays. So I want to make her happy on her birthday. I want to give her the ‘greatest’ gift of all. But I can’t think of anything as great as my Amma,” said Nikini, sadly.

“I think you should give her the ‘biggest’ gift. Something like the sky, or the ocean,” said the firefly.

Nikini thought for a moment. “Dear firefly, the biggest thing in the world is my Amma’s love. So, I would like to find a gift as big as her love. But how can I find it?” said Nikini.

“You are a very good daughter who tries to give the biggest gift to her mother. So, I will help you. Let’s go out and find it,” the firefly said.

Nikini went out in the dark with the firefly. The firefly showed her the way. They went to the woods. They searched and searched, but they couldn’t find anything as big as her mother’s love.

On the way, a mynah bird who was about to go to sleep, saw Nikini. “Nikini, where are you going in the dark?” the mynah bird asked. “Mynah bird, it’s my Amma’s birthday tomorrow. She loves me very much. She cooks and cleans and works hard with no rest. Her love is the biggest thing in the world for me. So, I should give her the ‘biggest’ gift. But I still couldn’t find anything as big as my Amma’s love,” Nikini said sadly.

“No, I think you should give her the ‘most beautiful’ gift, something like beautiful flowers, beautiful pearls,” the bluebird said. Nikini thought for a moment.

“Dear mynah bird, the most beautiful thing in the world is my Amma. So, I would like to find a flower or a pearl as beautiful as my Amma. But where can I find it?” asked Nikini. “You are a very good daughter. So I will help you,” said the mynah bird and away they went. They went on and on but couldn’t find anything as beautiful as her mother.

They went on until Nikini stumbled upon a rabbit who was fast asleep. “Oh, Nikini, where are you going in the dark?” asked the rabbit, rubbing his eyes.

“Rabbit, it’s my Amma’s birthday tomorrow. She loves me very much. She feeds me, cuddles me and holds me close until I fall asleep. She is the most beautiful thing in the world. So I should give her the ‘most beautiful’ gift. But I still couldn’t find anything as beautiful as my Amma,” said Nikini sadly.
“No, I think you should give her the ‘most precious’ gift in the world, something as precious as the moon and the stars,” said the rabbit.

Nikini thought for a moment. “Dear rabbit, the most precious thing in the world is my Amma. Even if I hang the moon on a necklace, even if I make stars into earrings, they are not as precious as she is. I want to find something as precious as my Amma. But how can I find it?” asked Nikini sadly.

“You are a very good daughter. I will help you find it.” The rabbit went along with the firefly, the mynah bird and Nikini. They went on and on, but they couldn’t find anything as precious as her mother.

On their way, she got entangled in a huge cobweb. Then the spider, who was having a sweet dream in the middle of the night, got up. “Oh, Nikini, where are you going in the dark?” the spider asked.

“Spider, it’s my Amma’s birthday tomorrow. She loves me very much. When I am sick she cries and looks after me without sleep until I get well. She is the most precious thing in the world for me. So I should give her the ‘most precious’ gift. But I can’t find anything as precious as my Amma,” Nikini said sadly.

“No, I think you should give her the gift that would make her ‘the happiest’,” said the spider.
.
“Oh, what would make her happiest?” Nikini thought and thought.

“Something like a delicious cake, a lovely birthday card, a nice pair of shoes, a colorful dress…?” Nikini thought for a while.

“Oh, a beautiful sari!! I think she would like a beautiful sari most. I want to give her the most beautiful sari in the world. I want to find the most beautiful sari for her. And I want to give it to her as she wakes up in the morning and say, “Happy birthday!” But how can I find it? There’s only a little time left, until morning,” Nikini said, impatiently.

“Nikini, you are a great daughter who thinks so much about her mother. Some children don’t even care about their mother’s birthday. They remember about their own birthdays and gifts only. So I will weave a very beautiful sari for you,” said the spider and she started weaving a beautiful sari.

Nikini was very tired after walking all over the woods and not sleeping the whole night. But she was so happy that she didn’t feel sleepy at all. She helped the spider weave the most beautiful sari for her mother.

The firefly flew far away and brought back beautiful flowers to decorate it. The rabbit ran around the woods and brought beautiful colors from flowers, to paint the sari with. The mynah bird shook the branches of trees and they shed dewdrops on it.

Finally, they had made the most beautiful sari in the world. The flowers looked lovely on it, the colors were the prettiest shades, and the dewdrops glittered like gems and pearls.

“This is very beautiful…the most beautiful sari I have ever seen. Amma would surely love this,” Nikini yelled with excitement. They were all happy.

“Let’s go…let’s give this to Amma and wish her a happy birthday,” said Nikini. She hurried towards home with her friends.

As they got halfway, a strong wind blew across the woods and it started to rain heavily. They tried their best to protect the sari from the rain and the wind. But they failed. The sari was torn into pieces.

“Oh, noooooooo!” Nikini screamed. She was so sad that she cried and cried, while getting soaked in the rain.

The dawn arrived, and the sun rose. She heard a voice calling out. “Nikini…Nikini!” someone was shouting.

It was Nikini’s mother, who was searching for her missing daughter. Just then, she saw Nikini crying under a tree. She came running to Nikini.

“Oh, my darling, where have you been? Why are you crying?” she asked.

“Amma, I went searching for a birthday gift for you. I searched for the greatest gift for you, but I couldn’t find it. I searched for the biggest gift for you, but I couldn’t find it. I searched for the most beautiful gift for you, but I couldn’t find it. I searched for the most precious gift for you, but I couldn’t find it. So finally, my friends made me a gift which you would like most. It was a very beautiful sari. But it got caught by the wind and was torn into pieces. I’m so sad that I couldn’t give it to you and make you happy,” Nikini said, still sobbing.

“My darling, do you know what is the most beautiful, most precious and the greatest thing to me? That is my little daughter. What I like most is her love. The love I felt from you today is the greatest, biggest, most precious and the most beautiful gift I’ve ever had in my life,” said her mother and she hugged her.

Nikini was very happy and so were her friends.

All of them went home with her, to celebrate the birthday.

Story found at 4to40.com

The Penny-Wise Monkey...A Jataka Tale

"If you want your children to be smart, tell them stories.
If you want your children to be really smart, tell them more stories.
If you want your children to be brilliant, tell them even more stories."
Albert Einstein

THE PENNY-WISE MONKEY

A Jataka Tale

Once upon a time the king of a large and rich country gathered together his army to take a faraway little country. The king and his soldiers marched all morning long and then went into camp in the forest.

When they fed the horses they gave them some peas to eat. One of the Monkeys living in the forest saw the peas and jumped down to get some of them. He filled his mouth and hands with them, and up into the tree he went again, and sat down to eat the peas.

As he sat there eating the peas, one pea fell from his hand to the ground. At once the greedy Monkey dropped all the peas he had in his hands, and ran down to hunt for the lost pea. But he could not find that one pea. He climbed up into his tree again, and sat still looking very glum.
"To get more, I threw away what I had," he said to himself.

The king had watched the Monkey, and he said to himself:

"I will not be like this foolish Monkey, who lost much to gain a little. I will go back to my own country and enjoy what I now have."

So he and his men marched back home.