1.No smoke without fire
One day, two expert botanists went into a forest to study the plants. They went deep into a forest so dense that no human could enter, only animals.
They sat for a moment by a stream in the middle of the forest and noticed a squirrel nearby.
One friend asked the other, “Hey, what’s that smoke in the middle of the woods? Is that even possible?”
The other replied, “Maybe there’s a fire where the smoke is coming from. How could there be smoke without fire?”
The first friend added, “I can’t imagine who would light a fire in the middle of this forest. Who would even come here? Aren’t people scared?”
The other continued, “Think about it, we came here to study plants even though it’s so scary. Fear isn’t more important than life’s bigger purpose. Of course, everything happens for a reason. Without the fire, the smoke wouldn’t even appear.”
2.Not played with just one bowl
Once upon a time, it was festival season. In one village, young men and women gathered to celebrate Bwisagu.
The leader of the boys and girls looked at what instruments everyone was holding. In one hand he saw a flute, in another a serja , in someone else’s hand a kham and a jotha. He was very pleased.
Another young man arrived late. The leader could see he was holding only a bowl.
The leader looked at the young man’s face and asked, “Why did you bring just this?”
The young man replied, “I brought it to play. We’re all going to have a great time today.”
The leader said, “You can’t play music with just one bowl.”
The young man tried to play. But he couldn’t make any music with just the one bowl. Everyone smiled at him.
3.People only clap hands when you success
One day, a man was crossing a dangerous river. People were surprised by him. Some were afraid he’d be swept away, some called him reckless, and some said he was risking his life over his troubles. Sad people commented about others who had died facing similar struggles.
He thought people would congratulate him for dealing with so much risk. He assumed ordinary folks would clap for him just for trying to cross the river.
The man finally made it across, struggling all the way. At that moment, people were thrilled. They came up to him and gave him applause.
Eventually, the man realized that no one really claps when you’re struggling or working hard—they only clap when you succeed. Once you succeed, everyone jumps in to celebrate.
4.Trees with small and large fruits
Once upon a time, a farmer planted two trees side by side along the road. After a few years, the trees had grown, and their branches and leaves looked beautiful.
Every passerby would stop to look at the trees. Sometimes people on the street would rest under their shade to shake off their fatigue. The trees often seemed to enjoy talking to each other. They were very happy to be able to provide shade for people.
Both trees produce fruit in a certain season. Another tree produced very little fruit. The tree that bore the most fruit was taken away by the people on the road with rocks. Its branches and leaves were damaged in the landslide.
The less fruitful tree asked the more fruitful tree, “Why do people throw stones at you every day but not at me?”
“People throw more stones at the tree that bears the most fruit,” said the stone-hit tree.
The other tree then realized very clearly that people pay more attention to what actually brings benefits or the best results.
5.An old man and the villagers
There was an old man in a village. He loved everyone a lot and always wanted everyone to be okay. People didn’t like dealing with problems and challenges. He always just wanted everyone to be peaceful and happy.
One day, a man in the village got very sick. No one knew how to help him. Not a single person in the village had any idea. No one thought of trying to treat him by moving him somewhere else.
The villagers shouted that he would die seeing how sick and helpless the man was. Some had already dug graves just in case. Meanwhile, the village elder came back with medicine from the jungle and gave it to the sick man.
After a few days, the man got better. From then on, the villagers took really good care of the old man and made sure to get easy treatment if anyone got sick.
6.A District Magistrate
Every day, a young student had to wait on the road for a bus to get to college. Often, the bus would be late, and he’d have to wait even longer.
One rainy day, he got caught in the rain while waiting. Seeing him, a girl also waiting for the bus held her umbrella over his head until the bus arrived. They both managed to stay dry.
Several years later, the young student became a district magistrate. Besides running the office properly, he also visited the villages in his district.
One day, he ran into a heavy rain on his way to visit one of the top schools in the district before school officially started. When he got there, he saw all the students coming to school with umbrellas.
The district magistrate noticed a female teacher helping a male teacher by holding an umbrella over him.
Later, the district magistrate met the male teacher alone and asked, “So a female teacher held an umbrella for you? Aren’t people talking about this?”
The teacher said, “There’s always someone pointing out mistakes in our school, and that’s how we keep getting better. Today I didn’t bring an umbrella because I thought it would be sunny, but we only ran into rain along the way. We’ve always managed to create an environment where our school supports each other. You saw Madam helping me today. Madam is our head teacher, and we all listen to her advice.”
The district governor was really happy to meet this woman who had helped him back when he was a student. That was for his Bachelor of Science final exam.
7.Your life changes when your habits change
A man saw his friends drinking alcohol. He didn’t know how good the wine was, how tasty it was, or what its quality or benefit was.
One day, he decided to try a drink to see what alcohol was like. He ended up getting drunk and it was bad for his health.
The second time he tried drinking alcohol again, he found the same result as before.
The man got used to drinking alcohol. He started drinking every day.
He couldn’t give up his drinking habit. His health started getting worse, there were constant arguments at home, and the overall situation in the family got worse day by day.
One of his friends once said, “You’ve made your body so ugly and weak. You really shouldn’t stop drinking alcohol now.”
“Alcohol was the first thing I tried,” he said. “It’s become my habit, and it’s ruined my health and my family too. How can I protect my body and my family now?”
The friend said, “When you can change your habits, your life can change too.”
8.What can’t be cured must be endured
A young man had been breakup by his teenage girlfriend over a mistake. He was really upset after being left by her and kept crying quietly. For a long time, he didn’t even go to college because of grief and shame.
One day, his friends came by to check on him. One friend asked, “What’s going on with you? It’s been ages, and you haven’t even gone to college. Exams are coming up soon, and you won’t do well on the test if you don’t go.”
The young man replied, “I have a really serious problem. My mind feels weak. I have no strength in my body, no courage in my mind.”
His friends asked, “What happened? Why don’t you go to the hospital for treatment?”
He answered, “This problem can’t be treated in a hospital. My girlfriend left me, so now I have depression.”
One of the friends said, ‘The illness that can’t be cured has to be endured. Some mental illnesses can be healed with patience and perseverance.’
9.Strike the iron while it is hot
The son of a knife-maker quit his studies and came back home. She thought she could run the household by doing what her father did, without having any big dreams.
One day, the father asked his son to carve a knife out of iron and shape it. He lit the fire and let it blaze. But the son stayed stuck. He was scared of heating such hot iron and just let it cool down for a bit.
So he tried to shape the knife using the iron that had cooled down many times. But even after trying for a long time, he couldn’t do it. He realized the job was really hard.
Father looked at him for a moment and said, “I’ve been making knives out of iron for so many years. And you still haven’t learned even a tiny bit of what I’m doing. What could be worse than that?”
The son remained silent. “I thought,” he said shortly after, “that making a knife would be easier than studying. But today I realized that knives aren’t easy either.”
The father added, “You naturally care about what matters to you. Remember, a knife’s shape can only be formed when the iron is hot.”
10.Destruction of forest and rising temperatures
One person couldn’t stay indoors because of the heat. He wondered where he was going to live and also thought about going to a stream to take a bath.
When he went into the stream, he found the water was very hot too. He wondered how it had gotten so hot, since it had never felt like that before. He couldn’t take a shower.
On her way back, he saw a man sleeping peacefully by the side of the road under a tree. He came closer and was happy to sit for a moment under the tree. The tree gave off a cool, humid breeze.
He said to the sleeping man, “Today’s temperature is higher than yesterday. I couldn’t stay indoors and just went to bathe in the river. How hot the water is today! I’ve really enjoyed coming to see you.”
The sleeping man said, “All this is because of the destruction of forest. Today, forests have become villages and towns, with big industries and factories set up in the cities. Every day, streets and cities keep spreading—why live without considering the temperature?”
The man thought for a moment. He said, “I’ve come to really understand how powerful and valuable a tree is. Today, you’re sleeping so peacefully in the shade of a tree. Of course, if everyone planted a tree, they’d be able to enjoy life happily in its shade.”
11.A rolling stone gathers no moss
One day, two young men set out to climb a mountain, aiming to achieve a big goal in their lives. They looked at the huge boulders blocking the path. All the rocks they found were dirty and bruised.
They both felt really tired and needed some water. They sat on a rock by the stream to drink some water. The stream was calm. They noticed moss growing on the rocks in the water. Moss was also growing on several other rocks nearby.
When they reached the mountain, they saw rocks rolling down from the top of the hill. These rocks were bright, smooth, and really pretty to look at, with no dirt on them.
“Look at these rocks,” said a friend, picking up a stone, “aren’t they beautiful? There’s no dirt on them, not even any moss. But we saw lots of rocks along the way getting dirty and covered in moss.”
Another friend said, “People in similar situations want to adapt. We’ve seen rocks in dusty places get dusty. We’ve seen rocks pile up in dry harbors. And the rocks that are flowing in the water look beautiful, slim and clean, we can see that.”
His friend asked, “So, what are you trying to say?”
The other friend replied, “Moss can’t grow on a rolling rock. The journey of our lives should be like rolling rocks.”