Stories for children of all ages
translated by GB Talovich
Edited by Silent Voices
One day a bartender in a tavern happened to see that there was a bee drowning in one of his liquor kegs. He felt sorry for the little bee, so he lowered a chopstick to the bee so it could climb out. He put the chopstick down and watched as the bee dried out. It flapped it wings so they could dry out faster. Then, when it was all dry again, it flew away buzzing busily.
After that, the bartender noticed that quite a few bees were attracted by the smell of the liquor; they fell in, and drowned. From then on, he kept an eye out for them, and rescued many bees.
This went on for many years. One day, he was startled when bailiffs from the court marched into his tavern. Without a word of explanation, they handcuffed him and marched him off to the court. When he got there, he discovered he had been framed. Some captured bandits who held a grudge against him said that the bartender was one of their gang. The judge in charge of the case had him hauled in to behead him with the rest of them.
The bartender protested that he was innocent, but the bandits had already said he was guilty, so the authorities assumed he was guilty. The bartender's heart went cold. He saw the main judge pick up the red brush used for writing out the death sentence.
Just as the main judge picked up his brush to write, a loud buzzing was heard coming closer, getting louder and louder. A great swarm of bees came flying in the window and landed on the judge's red brush! The judge waved the brush to shake them off, but more and more bees came. They didn't sting, but they wouldn't go away, either.
The judge thought this most extraordinary. He mused: "Perhaps these bees are here to prevent a miscarriage of justice."
At that, the main judge questioned the bandits again, and found contradictions in their testimony. He grilled them over again. This time he was sure that they had almost executed an innocent man.
Only when the judge called off the bartender's death sentence did the swarms of bees fly away. Then the judge asked the bartender if he knew why the bees had come to save him.
"I really don't know either, your honor, maybe it's because I have saved lots of bees that almost drowned in my liquor vats. They come to the smell. Then they fall in and can't get out. When l see that, I always save them. Now, I guess they've come to save me."
"This is truly wonderful! You have had a narrow escape. Always remember that you owe your good life to your good deeds. Remember to do all the good deeds you can. You are sure to enjoy good fortune in the future."
The judge's words proved true. The bartender kept doing all the good deeds he could. His business got better year after year. He lived a long, happy life, and died peacefully, a very rich man.
Source Of Information:
《Wisdom of the Buddhas》, by Venerable Wu Ling, based on the Talks of Venerable Master Chin Kung, translated by Silent Voices, published in August, 2012, distributed by Amitabha Buddhist Society Malaysia (92, Jalan Pahang, 53300 Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.
Stories for children of all ages
translated by GB Talovich
Edited by Silent Voices
About 1,600 years ago, there was a kind-hearted Confucian scholar named Mao. Once, before he had passed the imperial examinations and become a government official, he happened to see a fisherman on his way to the market to sell a turtle. Mao Pao immediately bought the turtle, but instead of eating it, he took it to a nearby lake and let it go.
Later, Mao became a very powerful general. But, even the very best generals lose sometimes, and one time General Mao's forces were beaten and they had to run for their lives.
The enemy was following hot on their heels. General Mao was running as fast as anyone else. He reached a great lake, but there were no boats around, and there was no bridge. There was no way to cross the water. General Mao couldn't swim, and anyway, he was dressed in battle armor, which would carry him straight to the bottom.
He looked back and saw the enemy was almost on top of him. He sighed and said, "The heavens have abandoned me!"
Rather than fall into enemy hands, General Mao prepared to take his own. Just as he was about to commit suicide, he noticed something huge come to the surface of the water, and float over close to the shore where he was preparing to kill himself.
He had no time to worry about what was floating in the lake. The enemy was coming closer and closer. General Mao decided, "If I kill myself here, the enemy will capture my corpse. This will disgrace my country and my emperor. It will be better for me to throw myself into the lake so they cannot find my body." With that, he leaped into the water of the lake. He was surprised for he landed on something. Then he started to move away from the shore, across the lake, to the other side, General Mao was astonished.
The enemy reached the lake. They yelled, they howled they shot arrows at General Mao, but he was already out of range. The arrows fell harmlessly into the water and didn't touch him. General Mao looked down and discovered he was standing on a huge turtle! The turtle took him to the other side of the lake. General Mao got off and went up the bank. The turtle came to the surface and nodded to him. Then it sank back into the water and swam away.
Then General Mao remembered; many years before, he had saved a turtle and released it in a lake - this very lake! Now, in his time of need, the turtle had come to rescue him: a life for a life!
related post: 《The Love of Life》- Bees Prevent A Miscarriage of Justice
Source Of Information:
《Wisdom of the Buddhas》, by Venerable Wu Ling, based on the Talks of Venerable Master Chin Kung, translated by Silent Voices, published in August, 2012, distributed by Amitabha Buddhist Society Malaysia (92, Jalan Pahang, 53300 Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.
