THE GRATEFUL SPARROW

Once upon a time, there lived an old woman who had a very bad temper. One day, she was so angry with a sparrow which chirped in her courtyard that she hit it with a bamboo pole. She broke the sparrows wing. The unfortunate bird then escaped to the house next door. In this house lived a very poor but kind grandmother. She mended the broken wing for the sparrow. She took great care of him and feed him rice and gave him fresh water. Soon the sparrow was strong enough to fly away. As he flew up into the air, the grandmother called out to him, Look after yourself. A few days later, the sparrow flew into the grandmothers garden again. He carried a tiny gourd in his beak. He dropped this gourd in front of the kind woman. The grandmother picked it up and looked at it. When she opened it, rice began to pour on the ground. The more she shook the gourd, the more rice flowed out of it. Since then, she never needed to go hungry again.

THE FORTUNE TELLER

One morning Mrs. Chong asked her husband to accompany her to the fortune teller. You go alone, Mr. Chong said. I dont believe in fortune tellers. Theyre a waste of time and money. Oh, but this new man is very good. Please come with me, his wife pleaded. Just this once. Very well, then. But just this once, Mr. Chong said. Im not going to make a habit of it. When they arrived at the fortune tellers, Mrs. Chong went in first while her husband waited outside. After the fortune teller had told her fortune, Mrs. Chong said, My husband will come in to see you now. Please be careful what you say to him. He doesnt believe in fortune tellers. I will soon make him change his mind, the fortune teller said. Ah, but he is a very stubborn man. And he gets angry very easily, Mrs. Chong said. So much the better, the fortune teller replied. Leave everything to me. There is only one thing. You must not tell your husband the fortune I have given you today. Mrs. Chong was surprised. Why not? she asked. There is nothing bad in it. I cannot explain, the fortune teller said, but it is in your stars. Whatever your husband says or does, you must not tell him your fortune. There will be disaster for you if you do. Very well, Mrs. Chong said, and went out. Her husband went in immediately, and said, Now be quick. I havent all day to listen to your nonsense. Ive only come here to please my wife. In that case, I will not tell you your full fortune, the fortune teller said. Instead I will give you only a serious warning. Do not ask your wife about her fortune. If you do you

will have great unhappiness. Mr. Chong laughed at this, and walked out. That evening as he was sitting at home with his wife, Mrs. Chong said to her, What did the fortune teller say to you? Oh, nothing much, his wife said quickly. I am sure it wasnt, Mr. Chong said, but tell me anyway. Really, it was nothing, his wife said, and tried to change the subject. I demand to know! Mr. Chong exclaimed, getting angry. But Mrs. Chong remembering the fortune tellers words, refused to tell her husband. Within minutes, they were quarraelling fiercely. If you dont tell me, Mr. Chong shouted, I shall leave this house and never return. I cant tell you, his wife cried. Something terrible will happen if I do. Something terrible will happen if you dont!, he roared. But she refused to tell him and he walked out of the house. He went straight to the fortune tellers. You were right, he said. I asked my wife about her fortune and it has bought me great unhappiness. Now please tell me the rest of my fortune. I shall believe whatever you say. The fortune teller smile to himself and studied Mr. Chong fortune in his astrological charts.

The Sparrow bersyukur

Sekali waktu, hiduplah seorang wanita tua yang memiliki temperamen yang sangat buruk. Suatu hari, dia sangat marah dengan burung gereja yang berkicau di halaman bahwa dia memukulnya dengan tiang bambu. Dia mematahkan sayap burung gereja itu. Burung malang kemudian melarikan diri ke rumah sebelah. Di rumah ini tinggal seorang nenek yang sangat miskin tapi baik. Dia diperbaiki sayap patah untuk burung pipit. Dia mengambil perhatian besar dari dia dan memberinya makan beras dan memberinya air tawar. Segera burung pipit itu cukup kuat untuk terbang. Saat ia terbang ke udara, nenek memanggilnya, "Jaga dirimu." Beberapa hari kemudian, burung gereja terbang ke kebun nenek lagi. Dia membawa labu kecil di paruhnya. Dia menjatuhkan labu ini di depan wanita baik. Nenek mengambilnya dan melihatnya. Ketika dia membukanya, beras mulai menuangkan di tanah. Semakin dia mengguncang labu tersebut, beras lebih mengalir keluar dari itu. Sejak itu, dia tidak pernah harus pergi lapar lagi.

THE TELLER FORTUNE

Suatu pagi Bu Chong meminta suaminya untuk menemaninya ke peramal. "Kau pergi sendiri," kata Mr Chong. "Saya tidak percaya pada peramal. Mereka membuang-buang waktu dan uang. " "Oh, tapi ini manusia baru sangat baik. Silahkan datang dengan saya, "pinta istrinya. "Sekali ini saja." "Sangat baik, maka. Tapi sekali ini saja, "kata Mr Chong. "Aku tidak akan membuat kebiasaan itu." Ketika mereka tiba di peramal, Mrs Chong masuk pertama sementara suaminya menunggu di luar. Setelah peramal telah mengatakan hartanya, Bu Chong mengatakan, "Suami saya akan datang untuk melihat Anda sekarang. Harap berhati-hati apa yang Anda katakan padanya. Dia tidak percaya pada peramal nasib. " "Saya akan segera membuat dia berubah pikiran," kata si peramal. "Ah, tapi dia adalah orang yang sangat keras kepala. Dan dia marah sangat mudah, "kata Mrs Chong. "Begitu banyak lebih baik," jawab si peramal. "Tinggalkan segalanya bagiku. Hanya ada satu hal. Anda tidak harus memberitahu suami Anda keberuntungan saya berikan kepada Anda hari ini. " Bu Chong terkejut. "Mengapa tidak?" Tanya dia. "Tidak ada yang buruk di dalamnya." "Saya tidak bisa menjelaskan," kata si peramal, "tetapi dalam bintang Anda. Apapun suami Anda mengatakan atau melakukan, Anda tidak harus menceritakan keberuntungan Anda. Akan ada bencana bagi Anda jika Anda lakukan. " "Baiklah," kata Mrs Chong, dan pergi keluar. Suaminya pergi dengan segera, dan berkata, "Sekarang menjadi cepat. Saya belum sepanjang hari untuk mendengarkan omong kosong Anda. Aku hanya datang ke sini untuk menyenangkan istri saya. "

"Dalam hal ini, saya tidak akan memberitahu Anda keberuntungan penuh," kata si peramal. "Sebaliknya, aku akan memberi Anda hanya peringatan yang serius. Jangan