Stories of wisdom.Stories that teach

THE RED AND BLUE COAT


Author: unknown

Once there were two boys who were great friends, and they were determined to remain that way forever. When they grew up and got married, they built their houses facing one another. There was a small path that formed a border between their farms. One day, a trickster from the village decided to play a trick on them. He dressed himself in a two-color coat that was divided down the middle. So, one side of the coat was red, and the other side was blue.
The trickster wore this coat and walked along the narrow path between the houses of the two friends. They were each working opposite each other in their fields. The trickster made enough noise as he passed them to make sure that each of them would look up and see him passing. At the end of the day, one friend said to the other, "Wasn't that a beautiful red coat that man was wearing today?"

"No", the other replied. "It was a blue coat."
"I saw the man clearly as he walked between us!" said the first, "His coat was red."



"You are wrong!" said the other man, "I saw it too, and it was blue."



"I know what I saw!" insisted the first man. "The coat was red!"



"You don't know anything," the second man replied angrily. "It was blue!"



They kept arguing about this over and over, insulted each other, and eventually, they began to beat each other and roll around on the ground.



Just then, the trickster returned and faced the two men, who were punching and kicking each other and shouting, "Our friendship is OVER!"



The trickster walked directly in front of them, and showed them his coat. He laughed at their silly fight. The two friends saw this his coat was red on one side and blue on the other.



The two friends stopped fighting and screamed at the trickster saying, "We have lived side by side like brothers all our lives, and it is all your fault that we are fighting. You have started a war between us."



"Don't blame me for the battle," replied the trickster. "I did not make you fight. Both of you are wrong, and both of you are right. Yes, what each one saw was true. You are fighting because you only looked at my coat from your own point of view."





WHY WISDOM IS EVERYWHERE

Author: unknown

A long time ago, Anansi the spider, had all the wisdom in the world stored in a huge pot. Nyame, the sky god, had given it to him. Anansi had been instructed to share it with everyone.



Every day, Anansi looked in the pot, and learned different things. The pot was full of wonderful ideas and skills.



Anansi greedily thought, "I will not share the treasure of knowledge with everyone. I will keep all the wisdom for myself."



So, Anansi decided to hide the wisdom on top of a tall tree. He took some vines and made some strong string and tied it firmly around the pot, leaving one end free. He then tied the loose end around his waist so that the pot hung in front or him.



He then started to climb the tree. He struggled as he climbed because the pot of wisdom kepts getting in his way, bumping against his tummy.



Anansi's son watched in fascination as his father struggled up the tree. Finally, Anansi's son told him "If you tie the pot to your back, it will be easier to cling to the tree and climb."



Anansi tied the pot to his back instead, and continued to climb the tree, with much more ease than before.



When Anansi got to the top of the tree, he became angry. "A young one with some common sense knows more than I, and I have the pot of wisdom!"



In anger, Anansi threw down the pot of wisdom. The pot broke, and pieces of wisdom flew in every direction. People found the bits scattered everywhere, and if they wanted to, they could take some home to their families and friends.



That is why to this day, no one person has ALL the world's wisdom. People everywhere share small pieces of it whenever they exchange ideas.