Juan and Ice Cream Story

Funny Story - Juan and the ice cream story
(Favourite stories from Philippines)

One day, Juan went to the city to look for work. While he was standing at the corner of a road, he saw a man selling ice cream. He bought some. When he tasted it, he jumped with surprise. The ice cream almost fell to the ground.

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“Why didn’t you tell me it’s so cold!” he asked the man. “Are you trying to cheat me? How can you expect me to eat it?”

The man explained that ice cream was made of ice, milk and sugar. Juan laughed. “It’s the first time I have come to a big city,” he said. The man then offered him another ice cream as a present.

“I can’t eat it,” Juan said. “My tongue is frozen.”

“Then take it home to give to your mother as a present,” the man replied.

Juan placed the ice cream inside his bag made of bamboo leaves, in which he had placed some clothes for his stay in the city.

Later in the afternoon, as he was not able to find any work, he returned home. He told his mother what had happened. He was very excited. He told his mother what had happened. He was very excited. He told her of the strange and new sights he had seen in the city.

“I have a big surprise for you,” he said. He then opened his bag but the ice cream had melted.

“Thief! Thief!” he cried at the top his voice “somebody has stolen my present for my mother! Thief! Thief!”

The neighbours came running to ask him what had happened. When he told them, they shook their heads.

“How can you put an ice cream in your bag, keep it there all the afternoon, and expect it still to be there when you come home?” they laughed.

Source: Favourite stories from the Philippines by Leon Comber

shared by www.englishstory12.blogspot.com

The giant princess’s fan story

Folktale - The giant princess’s fan story
(Favourite story from Singapore)

In days long gone by, the world divided into two parts, and each part was rulled by a powerful giant king. The Eastern lands were hot and wet, while the Western lands were cold and dark. Sometimes there were wars between the giants of two the lands, but story takes place when there was peace.

The youngest  son of the king of the Western Lands wanted to travel, and so left father’s palace. For many days, the prince travelled east, hiding whenever he saw soldiers. Many weeks later, he came to a small lake in the Eastern lands.

Because it was hot, the prince went for a swim in the lake. Suddenly, he saw a beautiful girl on the opposite side of the lake. He swam to her side, and they began to talk.

“I am a traveller from the Western Lands,” said the prince.

The girl’s eye grew wide. “Then you must leave,” she said. “My father, the king, will kill you if he finds you here.”

The prince was about to swim away when the giant princess called him back. “Don’t go yet. My ladies and I will hide you for a time, and we can swim together each day.”

After his long journey, the prince was glad to have chance to rest. The princess’s ladies hid him in a small house in the forest near the lake. Each day they brought him food, and each day he swam with the princess in the lake, before long, the prince and the princess fell in love.

“I want to marry you,” said the prince.

“But my father would never agree to it,” said the princess. “He would never let me marry a prince of the western Lands.”

“I’ll go and ask him anyway.” Said the prince, and he walked to the palace of the king of the Eastern lands.

When the king heard the prince say he wanted to marry the princess, he immediately threw the young man into prison. A few days later, the princes escaped, and he went to the lake. There he saw the princess. “Come with me to the west,” he said. “we can be married in my father’s palace, and my family will welcome you as my wife,”

“Are you sure it will be all right?” asked the princess. “Yes, but we must hurry.”

The princess wrapped her jewels and a beautiful fan in a length of silk. Then she took the prince’s hand, and together they ran towards the west, away from her father’s guards. In her hurry, the giant princess dropped her bundle. In the darkness, she was able to find her shiny jewelry, but not her fan. “I’ve lost my fan, my beautiful fan,” she cried.

The princess could hear the guards coming closer. “Come, my dear,” he said “we cannot waste any more time. I’ll buy you another they fled to the Western Lands where they were married. The beautiful fan that the giant princess dropped, fell to earth in what is now Malaysia. Some time later it flated down a river to the sea where it caught on some rocks and turned into an island. This island is now called Singapore.

Posted by www.englishstory12.blogspot.com

Source: Favourite stories  from Singapore by Irene-Anne Monteiro and Jenny Watson

Fable - The king’s Kinka story

Fables -The king’s Kinka story
(Favourite stories fromThailand)

The kinka is a small lizard with a red ring around its neck. This story is about a kinka that lived in the king’s garden.

One day the king took a walk through his garden. He looked at the birds and the flowers. He looked at the trees. Suddenly he noticed a kinkas do when they are frightened.

“Look at this,” said the king. “this lizard is very clever. He knows how to behave before the king. He is certainly the most polite animal I have ever seen.”

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The king called his gardener. “I want you to feed this kinka. Give him some meat each day. Here is a bag of gold coins to pay for the meat.”

And so, each day the gardener used two gold coins to buy meat for the kinka. The kinka grew fat and lazy. He no longer ran through  the garden.

One day the gardener was too busy to buy meat. Instead, he hung the two gold coins around the kinka’s neck. The kinka climbed to the top of the garden gate. Soon the king came along on his daily walk. He saw the kinka. This time the kinka did not nod its head because the coins around its neck were so heavy. It simply looked down on the king.

“What a proud kinka you are,” said the king. “You are too proud to be polite.”

After that the king refused to buy any special meat for the kinka. Like other animals, the kinka once again had to find its own food.

Sumber : Favourite stories from Thailand – Jenny Watson

Diposting oleh : www.englishstory12.blogspot.com

Fable - The Crane and the Clan

The Crane and the Clan
(Favourite stories from Chinese)

Chao was going to attack Yen. When the king of Yen heard about it, he sent for his senior officers.

“Can you tell me what to do?” he asked them.

Su Tai said, “I have a plan. Let me go and speak to the king of Chao,” The king of Yen agreed.

When Su Tai arrived at Chao, he saw the king. Your Majesty,” he said, “When I was coming here this morning, I passed the River Yi. There I saw a clam lying in the sun. Suddenly, a crane came along and tried to open its shell and eat it up. The clam caught the crane’s beak in it shell. The crane tried to free itself but was unable to do so.”

“ ‘You can try as hard as you like,’ the clam said, ‘but you cannot escape.”

“ ‘Unless you let me go,’ the crane answered, ‘you will not be able to return to the river.’”

“Neither of them wanted to give way. Not long afterwards, a fisherman passed by. He stopped and caught them both without any trouble.”

The king of Chao asked Su Tai, “What is the meaning of this story?”

“Your Majesty,” Su Tai replied, “if Chao and Yen fight each other they: will both become weak. there are many countries around us waiting to be the fisherman. I hope Your Majesty will think twice before doing anything.”

“Very well,” the King replied. Nothing more was heard after that of Chao attacking Yen.

Source: Favourite stories from Chinese by Leon Comber

shared by www.englishstory12.blogspot.com

The Kusu legend

Cerita bahasa inggris - The Kusu legend
(Favourite stories from Singapore)
 

Over a hundred and fifty years ago there lived in the village which is now Singapore, two holy men. One was an Arab named Dato Syeh Rahman, and the other was a Chinese named Yam.

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These holy men spent most of their time praying and fasting. But soon they found the village too noisy. And so one day Yam said to his friend. “Syed, there is an island near here where we could go for some peace and quite.”

“That’s a wonderful idea” said Syed. “But how do we go there?”

“That’s easy. We hire a boat,” said Yam, and that is what they did. Their boat was very simple, and they took nothing to eat or drink.

God took Yam and Syed Rahman to the island safely and when they got there, they each went a different way to pray and fast. Yam walked up the hill, and Syed stayed near the sea.

For two days, the man prayed without having anything to eat and drink. Then Yam began to feel sick. At first he tried to hide his illness from his friend, but soon his throat began to feel as if it were on fire, and his lips grew dry and cracked. Yam went to where his friend was praying.

“Syed,” he called. “Syed.”

“Yam,” said Syed. “You look weak.” He felt his friend’s forehead. “Why, you are burning up with fever.”

Syed made a place for Yam to rest, and while Yam slept, he prayed, after praying for some time. Syed shook him by the soldier.

“Wake up, Yam.” He said, “Wake to the boat now. I think you’ll find all you need there.”

Yam walked to the boat, and when he got there he found food and a jar of cool fresh water. He ate and drank, then went back to Syed and told him what happened.

“God is merciful,” said Syed. “Now we must go on with our prayers.”

Yam went back to the hill-top while Syed stayed by the sea. They prayed and fasted for several more days before returning to their homes.

After that, the two holy men often went to the island to pray. And many years later first one. And then the other, died on the island. Syed Rahman’s mother, Cik Galib, and his siter, Cik Sharfah Fatimah, were both very religious women, and when they died, their bodies were also brought to the island and buried there. Later, a Chinese temple for Tuah Peh Kong, the God of Prosperity, was built on this same island.

Today, thousands of people visit Kusu Island each year. The come to honour the two holy men, Yam and Dato Syed Rahman, who first went there.

Posted by www.englishstory12.blogspot.com

Source: Favourite stories  from Singapore by Irene-Anne Monteiro and Jenny Watson

The bear-lady story

The bear-lady story
(Favourite stories from Singapore)

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Once there was a bamboo-cutter who lived with his wife in a small wooden house near the town. As they grew older. The man became bald while his wife began to lose her hearing and her eyesight.

One afternoon the old bamboo-cutter said, “I’m going to town to sell my bamboo.”

“EH?” said the wife. “What did you say?”

The man loudly repeated what he had said and then set off for town. “Yesterday she put salt in my tea,” he said to himself, “and this morning she put sugar in the rice porridge. Still, she says there’s nothing wrong with her eyes! Later, long after her husband had gone, the old woman it happened that an old sun-bear was walking in the woods behind the house. When he smelled the foo, the sun-bear began to feel very hungry. At first he thought the smell came from a pile of rubbish. He pawed through the rubbish, but found of the house and knocked loudly.

“Is that you, husband?” the old woman called out. “Come in and eat. The food is almost cold,” She put a large dish of porridge and some fish and vegetables on the table.

The sun-bear ate all the fish, all the vegetable and all the porridge. Then he went back to his home in the woods, happy that he had met such a kind old woman.

The next morning the bear again passed the house, and again he smelled food. When he knocked on the door, the old woman called, “Come and eat your breakfast before it gets cold,” so the bear ate the food she had cooked.

For the nest three days, the sun-bear ate all his meals in the bamboo-cutter’s home. Then one evening, as he was eating, the bamboo cutter’s wife called out from the kitchen, “There’s a hole in the roof. You’d better repair it before the rains come.”

The bear, which had just swallowed a mouthful of hot rice porridge, made a loud noise.

“Well,” said the woman, “it’s no use sitting there making rude noise, husband. The hole won’t repair itself.”

The bear went on eating quietly.

“you know, you’re beginning to smell, said the woman. “When did you last wash yourself?”

The bear was so hurt by these that he left the food half-eaten and walked off into the woods.

The next morning, the bamboo-cutter arrived home. “The bridge was swept away by a flood and so I had to stay in town,” he said to his wife. “But now I’m home, and I’m very hungry for rice and fish.’

“Fish?” said the woman. “but you’ve been eating fish every day, for the last few days.”

“How could I when I was in town?”

“Well,” said the woman, “Somebody’s been eating.” Just then there was a knock on the door. The bamboo-cutter went on see who it was. There stood the sun-bear! The old man chased the bear away and laughed. “Do you know something?” he said to his wife. “You’ve been feeding that old bear.”

When the old woman heard this, she fainted.

Posted by www.englishstory12.blogspot.com

Source: Favourite stories  from Singapore by Irene-Anne Monteiro and Jenny Watson

Why cats and dogs always fight story

 Why cats and dogs always fight story
(Favourite stories from Taiwan)

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Long, long ago, in northern Taiwan, there lived a farmer and his wife. They had a ring of gold. They did not know it was a lucky ring. Whoever owned it would have enough to eat. The farmer and his wife sold it to a jeweler. Soon afterwards, they grew poorer and poorer. They did not even have enough money to buy food.

The couple had a dog and a cat. They also did not have any food to eat. The animals wanted to help their owners but they did know what to do.

“I must sure that must have been a magic ring,” the dog said.

“Perhaps,” answered the cat. “But how can we get it back from the jeweler?”

After many days, they thought of a plan.

“You must catch a mouse,” said the dog. “Then carry it to the jeweller’s shop. The ring is locked up there in a box. The mouse must gnaw a hole in the box and fetch out the ring. If the mouse does not want to help, you must bite him to death.”

Soon the cat caught a mouse. The dog followed behind while the cat carried it to the jeweller’s shop. The mouse crept into the shop and gnawed a hole in the box and brought out the ring.

The cat put the ring in its mouth and ran home. The dog followed. Now the dog could only run on the ground. He had to go all the way around the houses and through the streets. But the cat was able to run over the house-tops. So the cat arrived home long before the dog. She brought the ring to the farmer and his wife.

“This is a magic ring,” said the cat. “You must not part with it otherwise we shall be poor and have nothing to eat. I have brought it back. Please keep it carefully. You will find that we shall now be able to live comfortably again.

“What a clever cat!” said the farmer. “We shall look after you as if you were our own child.”

Just then the dog ran in. the farmer and his wife beat him for not helping the cat bring home the ring. The cat sat on the lap of the farmer’s wife and purred. So the dog became very angry with the cat. Every time he saw her after that, he chased her and tried to bite her.

This is why cats and dogs always fight.

Source: Favourite stories from Taiwan by Leon Comber & Charles Shuttleworth

shared by www.englishstory12.blogspot.com