Inspiring Stories & Fun Videos – Anderson Connect

We hope you and your loved ones are enjoying the beautiful weather.
In this month’s Anderson Connect, we will be sharing the following. Hope you enjoy!

• • 3 short stories
  • 2 fun videos (TED-Ed)

Short stories

The Greedy Boy

Sam and Tom were identical twins. They were so identical that even their mother found it difficult to distinguish one from the other, at least during their initial days.

However, they were very different from each other when it came to everything other than their appearance. Sam had no friends, while Tom was a great friendship maker. Sam loved sweets, but Tom loved spicy food and detested sweets. Sam was mommy’s pet and Tom was daddy’s pet. While Sam was generous and selfless, Tom was greedy and selfish!

As Sam and Tom grew up, their father wanted to share his fortune equally between them. However, Tom did not agree, and he argued that whoever proved to be more intelligent and stronger should get a bigger share of the wealth.

Sam agreed. Their father decided to organize a competition between Sam and Tom. He asked the two sons to walk as long as they could and return home before sunset. The wealth would be divided in proportion to the distance covered. As a rule of the competition, they were not permitted to carry a watch to keep track of the time.

The following day, Sam and Tom set out to walk. It was a rather sunny day. Sam walked slowly and steadily, while Tom broke into a sprint as he was bent on winning the race and winning a greater portion of his father’s wealth.

Sam knew that it would be ideal to walk as far as possible until noon and then start for home at noon as it would take the same amount of time to walk back. Knowing this, Sam decided to turn back for home at noon to be back home on time.

However, Tom, with his greed to earn more wealth, did not attempt to return home even after mid-noon. He walked twice as long as Sam and thought he would still be able to return home before sunset. He hurried back when he saw the sun turn orange. Unfortunately, he could not even make it halfway home as the sun started to set. Slowly darkness engulfed his path and he had to drag his tired feet back home.

He had lost the race because of his greed.

Moral of the story: Sometimes it can be tempting to pull a fast one to get ahead of everyone else. In the story, Tom thought that by outsmarting his twin brother, he’d be able to accumulate an extra portion of his inheritance. His greed caused him to overestimate his own abilities, and this led him to lose the race… and the money in the process.  Meanwhile, Sam’s hard work paid off. He was able to win the race through calm, methodical persistence.

Source: English Short Stories

Five More Minutes

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. “He’s a fine-looking boy”, the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.”

Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. “What do you say we go, Melissa?”

Melissa pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please, just five more minutes?” The man nodded, and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart’s content.

Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. “Time to go now?”

Again, Melissa pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.”  The man smiled and said, “OK.”

“My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded.

The man smiled and then said, “Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa.  She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play.”

Moral of the story: As long your priorities in your life are straight you will be happy and fulfilled. Prioritize your family and friends on top of all other things. No matter how busy things get, don’t forget to spend time with people that matter to you!

Source: moralstories.top

Three Sons and a Bundle of Sticks

Once upon a time, an old man lived with his three sons in a village. The three sons were hard workers. Still, they quarrelled all the time. The old man tried, often, to unite them, but failed. Though the villagers appreciated their hard work and efforts, they made fun of them for fighting.

Months passed by and the old man fell sick. He told his sons to stay united, but they didn’t listen to him. So, he decided to teach them a practical lesson so that they would forget their differences and stay connected.

The old man called his sons. He told them, “I will give you a bundle of sticks. Separate each stick and break each stick into two. The one who breaks the sticks the quickest will receive a greater reward.” The sons agreed.

The old man gave a bundle of 10 sticks to each of them and asked them to break each stick into pieces. They broke the sticks into pieces in minutes. And again, they started to quarrel among themselves as to who came first.

The old man said, “Dear sons, the game is not over. Now I will give another bundle of sticks to each of you. You will have to break the sticks as a bundle, not as separate sticks.”

The sons agreed and tried to break the bundle of sticks. Though they tried their best, they could not break the bundle. They failed to complete the task. The three sons reported their failure to their father.

The old man replied, “Dear sons, see! You could easily break the single stick into pieces, but you were not able to break the bundle! So, if you stay united, nobody can do any harm to you. If you quarrel with your brothers, anyone can easily defeat you. I ask that you to stay united.”

The three sons understood the power of unity and promised their father that whatever be the situation, they would all stay together.

Moral of the story: When it comes to solving problems, it’s much easier to work together as a group, rather than spend all that time bickering. This especially goes for projects that are nearing their deadlines. It’s important to focus on the task and help each other overcome roadblocks rather than argue.

Source: kidsworldfun.com

TED-Ed quick video lessons

We thought it would be fun this month to share some interesting short videos from TED-Ed. These are under 3 minutes each and offer a fun and new perspective on everyday things. Check them out here!

Can you trust your eyes?

Is binge-watching bad for you?

We hope you enjoyed your read. Take care and we look forward to connecting again soon!