War Story --------- Horror gripped the heart of the World War I soldier as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier asked his lieutenant if he might go out into the "No Man's Land" between the trenches to bring his fallen comrade back. "You can go," said the Lieutenant, "but I don't think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your own life away." The Lieutenant's words didn't matter, and the soldier went anyway. Miraculously he managed to reach his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder, and bring him back to their company's trench. As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the officer checked the wounded soldier, then looked kindly at his friend. "I told you it wouldn't be worth it," he said. "Your friend is dead, and you are mortally wounded." "It was worth it, though, sir," the soldier said. "How do you mean, 'worth it'?" responded the Lieutenant. "Your friend is dead!" "Yes sir," the private answered. "But it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive, and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say, 'Jim, I knew you'd come.'" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Sparrow ------------ It was a very cold winter night. A sparrow had spent two nights out with only the meagre shelter of a tree. He decided that he couldn't survive a third night, so he left the tree to find a better shelter. As he flew he got colder and colder, until his little wings froze solid and he fell to the ground. As he lay there freezing he realised that his end was nigh and he prayed for death to come quickly. Suddenly, in his semiconscious state, he had a feeling of being envelope in a warm covering. He regained consciousness to find that a friendly cow had dropped a luxurious deposit all over him. The warmth gave him a new lease of life, and the sparrow's comfort made him feel very happy, so he started to sing. A passing pussycat heard the chirping, located the heap, carefully removed the excrement to reveal the little sparrow, and promptly ate him up.................... There are three morals to this sad story :- 1. If someone shits on you, they are not necessarily your enemy. 2. If someone gets you out of the shit, they are not necessarily your friend. 3. If you are in the shit and happy - keep your mouth shut ! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT WILL MY REWARD BE? ----------------------- One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish. About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family. "You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman to the fisherman. "You should be working rather than lying on the beach!" The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?" "Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer. "And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling. The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!" "And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again. The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman's questions."You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!" he said. "And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman. The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!" Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?" The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sittingon this beach, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!" The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "And what do you think I'm doing right now?" ************************************************************************ There are many people who work extremely hard during their lives to achieve happiness. They work hard to accumulate enough money to buy the happiness that they want. But as the story illustrates, there is something inherently wrong with that approach to life. What is the real reward that comes from working? The businessman in the story never satisfactorily answered that question. Do not work so hard till we neglect the other more essential things in life.