#105 A Five-Storey Hotel

A group of girlfriends were on vacation when they see a five-story hotel with a sign that reads: “For Women Only.” Since they were without their boyfriends or husbands, they decided to go in.

For illustration purpose only

The bouncer, a very attractive guy, explained to them how it worked.

“We have five floors. Go up floor by floor, and once you find what you are looking for, you can stay there. It is easy to decide since each floor has a sign telling you what’s on that floor.”

So they started going up, and on the first floor the sign was: “All the men on this floor are short and plain.” The friends laughed, and without hesitation they went on to the next floor.

The sign on the second floor was: “All the men here are short and handsome”. Still, this was not good enough, so the friends continued to the next floor.

They reached the third floor and the sign was: “All the men here are tall and plain.” They still wanted better, knowing that there were two floors left, they kept going.

On the fourth floor the sign was perfect: “All the men here are tall and handsome.” The women got excited and were about to go in. Just before they went in they realized that there was still one floor left. Wondering what they were missing, they headed up to the fifth floor.

There they found a sign: “There are no men here. This floor was built only to prove that there is no way to please women.”

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Unknown

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are satisfied with the stories, please help by clicking on the Ad in this page. Thank you ^-^
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

#104 Due Praise

During the Song Dynasty, there lived a man named Wang Po. He was confused because his melons did not sell.

“These melons are from Western Xia. The people here are ignorant and do not want them. What shall I do?”

Hence, with his glib tongue, Wang Po praised his melons to passers-by.

“Come look at my melons! My melons are fragrant and sweet, guaranteed to make you come back for more! Free tasting!”

After tasting Wang Po’s melons, everyone loved them and word soon spread. The emperor Shen Zong was out on his inspection one day and tasted Wang Po’s melons.

“Mmm. This melon is really good!” said Shen Zong with his thumb up.

“The melons are good! Why do you still need to promote them? Are you afraid that they won’t sell?” asked Shen Zong.

“This melon is a variety from Western Xia. The people here do not know about it. I only managed to sell after praising them myself,” replied Wang Po.

“Sellers should be like Wang Po, who gives due praise to his products,” said Shen Zong to everyone.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Asiapac Books

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are satisfied with the stories, please help by clicking on the Ad in this page. Thank you ^-^
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

#101 Story Of Abunawas - The Stilts

The king wanted to test Abunawas' smartness. So, he invited Abunawas to the palace.

"You want me, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, you've fooled me many times. And that's too much. I want you to leave this country. Otherwise, you'll have to go to jail."

"If that is what you want," Abunawas said sadly, "I will do what you say."

"Remember, start from tomorrow you may not step on the ground of this country anymore," the king said seriously.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Abunawas then left the palace sadly. The following morning the king ordered two of his guards to go to Abunawas ‘s house. They were surprised. Abunawas was still there. He was swimming in a small pool in his front yard.

"Hey, Abunawas, why haven't you left this country? The king ordered you not to step on the ground of this country again, didn't he?"

"Sure he did," answered Abunawas calmly. "But, look at me. Do I step on the ground? No, I'm swimming. I'm in the water."

The guards were not able to argue with Abunawas. So, they left and went back to the palace to report what they had seen. The king was curious on Abunawas ‘s excuses not to leave the country.  Therefore, he summoned Abunawas. Abunawas came to the palace on stilts.

" Abunawas, I will surely punish you because you did not do what I said. And now, look at you! You walked on stilts like a child. Are you crazy?" said the king pretended to be furious.

“I remember exactly what you said, Your Majesty," Abunawas answered calmly. "This morning I took a bath in the pool so that I did not have to stand on the ground. And since yesterday I have been walking on stilts. So as you see, I do not step on the ground.”

The king was not able to say anything. He thought that Abunawas was really smart. He then offered Abunawas drink. Abunawas was glad and smiled a lot.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Unknown

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are satisfied with the stories, please help by clicking on the Ad in this page. Thank you ^-^
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

#099 Managing Resources

An old man was dying. So he asked his two sons to come to meet him. He would give half of his land to his first son, Hong Shan, and half to the second son, Qing Shan. Hong Shan came into the room first.

“Hong Shan, after I die, you will inherit the land on the western ridge,” said the old man.

Then Qing Shan entered the room.

“Qing Shan, you will have the land on the eastern ridge after I am gone,” he told Qing Shan.

After the old man died, both of the sons had their shares. There were many trees on the western ridge. Hong Shan felled them all and lived in luxury for the next few years. Hong Shan then planted crops on the land after all the trees were gone. Unfortunately, all his crops were destroyed in a terrible storm.

Qing Shan planted trees on his ridge, cleared some land for crop farming and reared cattle and sheep. A few years later, his tree became a lush forest, his crops yielded good harvest and herds of cattle and sheep roamed the land.

Hong Shan was puzzled when he came to Qing Shan for help.

“How did this place flourish so well?” asked Hong Shan.

“You took from the land without returning anything and stripped it of its wealth. I nourished the land before making use of it, so my resources lasted longer.”

Hong Shan finally understood his mistake.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Asiapac Books

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are satisfied with the stories, please help by clicking on the Ad in this page. Thank you ^-^
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

#093 All Trades Have Their Experts

During the Song Dynasty, a man named Ye Yuan Qing became the top scholar. Then he walked pass a crowd and heard a woodman talking.

“What’s so great about that? If my family had been rich, I could be top scholar too!”

“Hmph! You want to be top scholar? Don’t overrate yourself. You should just keep chopping firewood for living!”

“There are many things to be learnt in life. I can chop firewood in any way I want. Can you do that?” boasted the woodman.

“Watch me!” said the woodman as he cut the wood in the way he wanted.

“That’s amazing!” said Ye Yuan Qing.

“What’s so great about that?” said an old man who happened to be there.

“Look he can pour oil into the bottle through the hole of a copper coin from such height! Brilliant!” said the woodman.

 

 “I have nothing to be proud of. Each trade has its own top scholar!” said Ye Yuan Qing.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Asiapac Books

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are satisfied with the stories, please help by clicking on the Ad in this page. Thank you ^-^
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

#092 Queen Of Arabia And Three Sheiks

Maura, who like to be said of as the most beautiful and powerful queen of Arabia, had many suitors. One by one she discarded them, until her list was reduced to just three sheiks. The three sheiks were all equally young and handsome. They were also rich and strong. It was very hard to decide who would be the best of them.

For illustration purpose only

One evening, Maura disguised herself and went to the camp of the three sheiks. As they were about to have dinner, Maura asked them for something to eat. The first gave her some leftover food. The second Sheik gave her some unappetizing camel’s tail. The third sheik, who was called Hakim, offered her some of the most tender and tasty meat. After dinner, the disguised queen left the sheik’s camp.

The following day, the queen invited the three sheiks to dinner at her palace. She ordered her servant to give each one exactly what they had given her the evening before. Hakim, who received a plate of delicious meat, refused to eat it if the other two sheiks could not share it with him.

This Sheik Hakim’s act finally convinced Queen Maura that he was the man for her.

“Without question, Hakim is the most generous of you,” she announced her choice to the sheiks. “So it is Hakim I will marry”.

-FIN-

Read the Indonesian translation HERE

Author: Unknown

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are satisfied with the stories, please help by clicking on the Ad in this page. Thank you ^-^
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------