recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Triple Warmer

There once was a hermit who wanted to be a holy man and decided he had to find God in the desert. So he went and lived in the stony desert by himself; and he lived there for so long that the sands and winds and heat and cold blew all memory of why he was even there, what he was called or why he had come from his mind. He became a wild thing that wandered about and one day, he wandered close to the home of a woman who had build a house at the edge of the desert, near a fine spring, where she grew fruit and flowers and many healing herbs as well.

She saw the man and became fascinated; over many days, she befriended him like a wild animal and eventually he came close enough to take some food from her hand. He looked so lost and thin that the woman had a great feeling of compassion flow over her - she couldn't help herself, she stroked his face. He didn't draw back, but stared at her - her touch reminded him of many things that were now coming back to him.

It took a long time but eventually, he became a husband and then a father, and finally learned what holiness is really all about.
Attention

An old woman is out in the winter woods, finding wood for her fire. She feels weak and very cold, curses and mutters under her breath about an infinity of little nagging aches and pains as she makes her way through the snowy woods, picking up little branches here and there. It is midwinter, but as she bends again for yet another little branch she sees a group of small, wild flowers, darkest green against the white of snow, and one of them carries a tiny blue flower!

The old lady stops her muttering, she picks the tiny flower with great care, places her briefly to her lips before putting it safely in her pocket.
Good Housekeeping

A woman sits in her dusty, unkempt home, meditating once again, on love and wealth and earthly success, but in the back of her mind, all is full of swirling fears and insecurities because she doesn't know how to pay her bills. A knock on the door jars her out of the meditation, makes her angry that her out-of-body sanctuary has been thus invaded.

Outside there stands a tall old lady dressed in green. She tells the woman that she was sent by her higher self, to knock loudly on her door and tell her that the only way to get what she wants, in the world as well as in her spiritual quests, is to take care of the necessities of life first. The green lady hands the woman a gift - it is a small house plant. "This will not grow nor live unless you give it water, and sunshine," the green lady says, and then she simply vanishes into thin air.

Astonished, the woman takes the plant inside, and that very night, she starts the process of cleaning up her house as the first step to clearing up her world.
New Beginnings

There once was a woman who lived very happily with her family in a nice little house at the edge of town. She was perfectly content in every way and her life was great. One day, there was a knock on the door and a weary traveller stood outside in the rain, asking for assistance. The woman let him into her house and made some soup and bread, gave him some wine and let him dry his cloak by the fire.

She noticed that he was carrying a very unusual bag with metal inlays and many decorations, and asked him about it. The traveller produced a book from the bag and showed it to the woman. It had pictures in it of things she had never seen, and something woke up inside of her that she had never known before or even thought she wanted to know.
A few days after the traveller had gone, she went to the village priest and asked to be taught how to read, and to write.
The Truth Sayer

A man stands on the edge of a cliff - he has decided to throw himself into the churning waves that crash against the rocks below, for he has failed in business and endeavour, and now he feels that he is worth nothing, that everyone will sing and dance with joy when he is gone.

He is about to take that last step when before him, lighting strikes the sea and there is born a white knight who comes to him, holds up a mirror - they are one and the same, they always were: Now hear the truth!
Metaphor Stories Wikia

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The Tonic

There once was a farm belonging to a brother and a sister which was run down and it had become a haven for all manner of parasites.
There were ants in the wooden walls, mice and rats had a field day in the barn; the farm cat and dog were too busy snapping at their own fleas to do their job properly; there were cockroaches in the kitchen and the workers were lazy layabouts who ate a lot, but did no work at all.

One day, an old strident maiden aunt came for a visit.

She was disgusted! She banged her cane on the floor and wouldn't broke an argument - soon, the parasite workers were chased down the street and new ones were hired; rubbish was piled high and burned; the animals scrubbed and soap bubbles were spilling from the house into the yard; and only a week or two later, you wouldn't have recognised that farm. It had become a pleasure and an asset to everyone involved.
Time Healing

A woman, wearing a woolen scarf over her head and tightly drawn around her shoulders, steals away from her home and walks into the night.
She enters a forest and deep within, she finds an old temple; yet it looks brand new and as though it has been awaiting her.

There is no-one there, yet she feels the presence of spirits who are willing to listen.

She steps inside the temple and lets the heavy woollen scarf fall to the floor.

She, too, lets herself sink to the floor and here it is that she becomes herself, and tells the spirits about her life, letting them take the burdens away and all those things which used to wear her down.
The Messenger Bird

A magician is lying on his bed in his high tower. He seems asleep but it is only his body which is resting; his spirit has taken the shape of a bird made from pure light, streaming light from its wings, tail and body, and he sends this messenger bird into dark places, so he can safely learn what is there, and know all the aspects of his world, without judgement, without fear.
Spheres

A child stands in the garden of her home; she sighs for there are many things she doesn't understand - her parents fighting, talk of poverty and war, of helplessness and pain.

She sighs again, but then she sees bright flowers in the grass; and as she looks more closely, there are flowers everywhere; in the bushes, high in the trees, and in the wind, they dance, and look like bubbles, spheres of dreams.
Down To Earth

The lady of the house is all in a tizzy - running here and there like a headless chicken, worrying and fretting about all manner of things as some relatives are about to arrive at her house.

"Oh! What will they think! What will they say! Will they like the cake, should I make some more, something better! Oh dear oh dear oh dear!"

An older aunt who was the first to arrive, tells her to come out and sit in the garden for a moment. The woman is too flustered; but the Aunt insists, kindly but not leaving any room for doubt.

When the visitors finally arrive, they find the young lady sitting in her herb garden, radiant and serene, and they can't help but think how beautiful she is.
The Mother

On a far away ocean, a ship sails into the bay of an undiscovered island that is not charted on any map. So everyone on board is very surprised to see signs of habitation on the island. They row a boat ashore to find that there are many people, and children too; all are happy and friendly, delighted to meet the visitors, and they even speak the same language.

The captain of the ship learns that these are survivors from a ship wreck many years ago; they had made their home there and were more than content with their lives.

The captain asked to see their leader; he is taken to a beautifully well build wooden cathedral in the forest by a spring, surrounded by the most beautiful trees and flowers, and there he meets the leader, the one who had brought all this together and achieved all this for everyone - a woman known by all as mother.
Hope

A middle aged woman, worn down with worry and care and work, sits on a garden bench. She is too tired and despondent to see the beautiful sunny day, the bright white clouds, nor to listen to the bright winds rustling in the dancing leaves, or smell the sweet scent of the many grasses, herbs and flowers she herself did plant with loving hands.

All of a sudden, the wind blows a tendril from a climbing, flowering plant - it touches her cheek like the hand of a lover. The woman startles aware, looks around, brings her hand to her face and then, she smiles.
Acceleration

A husband and wife have been running a little shop in their town for many, many years. And over the years, trade has become eroded; now, the shop is dim, dusty, and rarely sees any customers at all any longer as their old customers are dying out, one by one. The couple is worried about their future and how to pay the bills in their dotage; what they have stored up is rapidly eaten away as it isn't being replaced. One day, a stranger comes to their store. He looks around and says, "This is like a time warp! You need to wake up, go outside, see what's going on and start thinking afresh of what the customers today are wanting and expecting!"

The man and woman look at each other and they know he's right; the very next day, they close the shop and go outside to look at what successful shopkeepers are doing in their town. They get many new ideas and when they get home, set right to work to make a better future for themselves.
Summerlands

Far away, and further still, up above and to the side there lies a place that many have visited in their dreams. A person may wake up and find themselves lying in soft, sweetly scented grass and there are many flowers; the sky is a radiant blue, so blue as you have never seen and yet you do remember - these are the Summerlands, a place and state of being of pure bliss, of love, of homecoming. Today, a woman finds herself right here amidst the Summerlands - "Am I asleep and dreaming? Or was I dreaming, and I am now awake at last?"
Alien Messages

A wise old man who has been a teacher for many years is sick and in pain. He can't sleep so he goes outside to find solace in prayer and contemplation as he has done for nearly all his life. But the pain keeps breaking his concentration and this night, there is no solace - all seems just an illusion, and the only reality that is left, is suffering and death. He starts to cry but then, a flashing star in the sky above catches his eye.

As he looks up at the star, he hears a far away whisper - and in his heart, a sense of wonderment begins to grow that last he felt when he was just a child.

And with this wonderment, the pain begins to fade away - it leaves him not, but now the night is life once more, alive once more, and death is not yet here.
The Harvest

Once, an old woman came to visit her granddaughter who had just been married and was expecting her first child. The old woman looked frail and walked slowly with a stick; her hair was white and her eyes were milky.

The granddaughter looked upon her with pity and offered her the best chair, the finest fruit; and she sighed and said, "I am so sorry you are old, Grandmother. It must be a terrible thing."

The old woman looked fondly upon the girl and smiled. She said, pointing at the young girl's pregnant belly, "I have been there and done that, not once, but thrice. I have seen my children grow up and I helped deliver my grandchildren. I have buried my husband and travelled far and wide. The worlds in which I move are as yet unknown to you in every sense."
Wild & Free

Once, there was a young princess who had lost her child in childbirth.

She was very, very sick – not just physically sick, but heart sick as well. Her younger brother hears of this and travels to visit her; when he walks into the sick room, everything is dark, airless, lifeless and stale, and physicians hover around the bed like so many vultures with their pale thin faces and long sharp noses, muttering long words of doom and gloom.

The brother drives them out and hires a gypsy girl which has the scent of the hills and the wild flowers in her hair, laughter in her voice and freedom in her step; she takes over the care of the princess, lets the sunlight back into the room, and with her loving care and the help of nature, herbs and flowers, the princess is saved and starts on the road to recovery at last.
Good Things

There once was a woman whose travels had taken her far, far away from home across the years and the many miles. One day, she was tired and despondent, worn out and weary from her travels and her works, in a small lodging in a strange city. As she went to shut her window, a scent caught her attention - someone was baking a cake. Instantly she has hurtled back to being a small child and helping her mother in the kitchen. She closed the window softly, turned around and looked at her little cooker in the corner of her room, and she decided there and then to not just eat a piece of bread and cheese again, but on this night, to cook a meal for herself, to make herself at home.
The Ocean Wave

A dusty traveller emerges from the shrub lands and stumbles down the beach towards the ocean.

They are tired and worn out but they walk forward and into the water. Suddenly, a big wave takes them by surprise and breaks right over their head!

When the wave recedes, the traveller is soaking wet, gasping for air, laughing out aloud - welcome back to life!
A Taste For Life

A woman walks in a garden cemetery She has walked here every day for many months, ever since her husband died of a dire illness in the last days of winter. Now it is late summer and she is still dressed in heavy black all over, so still and pale that she has frightened other visitors who mistook her for a ghost.

The gardener, an old man who had seen many things, had been watching her for a long time and finally one day, he steps into her path and gives her a ripe, golden fruit he has picked from a tree. She puts her hand up and says, "I won't eat fruit from a graveyard, what are you thinking?"

The gardener says, "It is specially blessed by all the spirits here. It is good fruit. Try it." The woman sighs and takes the fruit, takes a bite. She startles aware as the sweet taste explodes in her mouth. She looks at the gardener, looks at the fruit, and starts to cry at last.
The Adventurer

A team of adventurers finds themselves in the middle of nowhere, in the heart of a desert. They have run out of money, food and water and also, out of patience with each other. They argue and fight amongst themselves. Some want to go back, some want to go forward, some want to stay where they are and wait for help to arrive.

One amongst them has enough of all the fighting and walks out into the desert to get away from all that noise and complaining. As he walks through the sand, the voices behind him start to fade away, and when it is all quiet, he sighs with relief - and notices a strange shadow on the sand. Immediately fascinated, he goes to investigate. It is the entrance to an ancient temple, full of treasure, buried long ago and waiting here to be discovered ...
True Blue

A general on the morning of the decisive battle steps up to a hill, overlooking his troops. He is full of doubt and sadness about the loss of life to come for those under his command; he wishes he wasn't there, he feels this is one fight too many and wants to turn away. But then his best and oldest friend comes to join him. He says nothing at all, just stands there; his loyalty and love radiate from him and they melt away the fear and sadness.

The battle will be fought, and it will be won.
A Loving Blanket

A dishevelled and distraught woman, hair unbound, is running barefoot across a winter field; it is freezing, driving sleet gets in her eyes and crows are flapping around her, pecking at her hair.

Another comes - they drive the crows away, catch her in their arms, wrap a warming cloak around her, pick her up and carry her inside, hold her close and give her warmth, and comfort by the fire.
Sigh Of Relief

There once was an old man who had been everywhere and never found what he had been looking for. So he decided that what he couldn't find, didn't exist, as it couldn't be found; this depressed him greatly and so he stayed in his house from that day forth and never left it at all any longer unless he absolutely had to. One day he was in his local store, buying provisions, when a newcomer to the town asked the clerk, "Who is that old man?" - "Oh," said the clerk, "That's the man who's been everywhere." "Wow," said the newcomer, "That's interesting ..."

The newcomer went over to the old man and said, "I hear you've been everywhere?" The old man snarled and said, "Yeah, that's right. Everywhere." The newcomer smiled and said, "And where is that?"

The old man tried to speak, but couldn't get any words out; in the end he started to laugh, laugh so hard he had to cough. When he was finished, he shook hands with the newcomer and they left together, to become firm friends.
Peace

There are places in the world where winds are born; like little river springs, there are small drafts at first, and they too flow down into the valleys, gathering others towards them, and becoming great rushing rivers, storms and trade winds that encircle all the worlds.
One day, a man who didn't know any better build a house just where a wind was being born, and in doing so, disturbed and disrupted the flow of winds all over the world. In one place this led to a sharp northern wind blowing without ever letting up across a valley, where up until then, three brothers and their families had lived in great harmony and joy. The sharp winds blew on their heads each and every day, and it drove them crazy - they started to fight amongst each other, and getting crazier with every day the wind was howling through their valley.

A magician tried to figure out what had gone wrong, and he went on a long journey, into the sharp wind, and eventually found the house that man had build on the other side of the world, and which had caused all this trouble. The magician gave the man a payment made in part of knowledge and in part of gold; the man moved his house to a different place; and soon, the sharp winds had stopped and peace reigned once more beautifully in the valley.
The Mind Healer

A researcher sits helplessly amidst his piles and piles of books, of notes, sheets cascading everywhere, every available wall space is filled with scribbled equations, words with question marks behind them - he has been at work for many years and for all his labours, all has just become insolvable, overwhelming. He falls asleep with his head on his latest notebook and he dreams.

In his dream, a woman appears, dressed in bright golden yellow clothes. She comes and stands behind him and places her hands either side of his head. Golden bright light bursts from her hands; like a storm it rushes through the man, blowing away confusion and re-arranging many things, bringing clarity and deep peace.

He sleeps then deeply, and when he awakes in the morning, he knows the answers he has sought so long.
Young At Heart

An old lady has been told she only has three months left to live. It is spring, and she is in her garden, carefully weeding her vegetables and little flower seedlings with a stick for she can't bend down to do it in the usual way. Her daughter, who is much distraught, comes calling and finds her there.

"Why do you bother?" the daughter cries heartbrokenly, "You know you won't live to see any fruits or flowers! Come inside, sit down, take it easy!"

The old lady smiles and touches her daughters arm, looks into her eyes and says, "But it is spring, my dear!"
A New Perspective

A queen is ruling her country with an iron fist - she herself is extremely determined and prides herself of her strength and perseverance. She doesn't like fools and lazy people, and makes ever more stringent laws without compassion to punish everyone she thinks is like that, which she thinks is everyone apart from her. People in her country suffer terribly and unjustly, and finally some amongst them make a petition to a great wizard who lives by the sea.

The wizard goes to the palace to see the queen, and places a spell upon her that she cannot speak but only see, hear and feel; he abducts the queen, strips her of her finery, dresses her in rags and puts her out in the worst part of town in the middle of the night. The queen tries to get back into her palace, but dressed as a beggar and being unable to speak, she is driven away by the guards, and so she has to live on the streets in her own kingdom, and she learns for herself just what her laws have done.

One week later, the wizard lifts the charm; the queen returns to her palace, and lives to become a wise and most beloved ruler.
The Dreamer

A traveller once came to a great city, the greatest city on Earth. It was full to the brim of wonders and amazing delights for all the senses, more than you could ever experience fully in a single lifetime, and the traveller was amazed.

"How did such a wonder come to be here?" he cried.

A passer by heard him and took the time to stop, to tell him of the shepherd who, in ages past, had fallen asleep and dreamed of a great city right here, it was a meadow then, and who had told his people of his dream, and who had so inspired them that they began to build it on that very day.
Thriving

There once was a terrible war of destruction, which left everything in absolute ruin - not a house was left intact, not a road you could even tell where it might have been for all the rubble strewn about, not a tree left standing. No-one lived there any longer, so it was with amazement that a soldier on patrol saw a small girl child playing with a piece of brightly coloured fabric amidst the ruins. She looked well fed, well cared for and very happy. He called to her and she skipped over happily, said that she lived with her mother and sisters just over there.

The soldier followed the little girl through the ruins to some stairs, and down the stairs, and into a cellar where many candles were burning, and a fine fire in the hearth; there was food boiling in a pot which smelled delicious and carpets had been put on the stone floor. There was the mother of the family who had organised it all, and the sisters looking well content. The soldier was amazed; he was invited to share the dinner freely and in time, became a great help to this family of survivors.
The Inquisitor

Everyone was afraid of the inquisitor, and none more so than one particular man who had tried so hard and for such a long time to not think about anything other than what was right in front of his nose, because that other was too fearful and too full of pain.

But when it came, and the questions were asked, and the man finally found the courage to look into those dark places he had avoided for all these many years, he felt a huge relief and there was more - the answers to the inquisitor's question were the first steps on a journey that he knew would finally bring him home again.
Light Angels

A beloved child, new born, lies weak and pale in its beautiful cot. The healers have been and gone, and now it is night and the parents are there, praying for the child to survive to the next dawn. They are exhausted and in the deepest part of the night, they fall asleep.

Unseen and unknown to them, through the open window come small sparks of finest light - fairies have come, and they find the child, dance about it, bring their special magic. When the parents awake with the rising sun, they find the child is awake, calm and he seems to be looking at something, curious and wide aware.
The Key

There once was a young woman who always felt as though she was a stranger in her own home. Even though her family was very kind, she felt like a visitor, as though she didn't belong. She often wondered what was wrong with her, and the sense of being in the wrong time or the wrong place somehow permeated everything, made everything unreal. Her father died, and then her mother; and she was given the charge of their home.

Amongst the papers and other things, there was a strange old key. It was very big and the young woman knew immediately what it belonged to - there was a big old box with iron wrappings in the attic she had seen when she was a child. She hurried with the key and climbed into the attic, unlocked the box, and inside it found proof that she was not the child of these parents, but that a king with a baby in his arms had come calling one stormy night, driven out by revolutionaries, and had begged them to take care of his only daughter.

They had taken the baby and he had been caught and killed the very next day. And with this knowledge, her life made sense, and from that moment forth, she had a life.
Abrir Janela de Contexto

Antes de começar a criar as geometrias e usar todas as outras funções da playCB, é necessário inicializar a OpenGL. Essa inicialização é feita somente abrindo a janela de contexto, a qual também vai alocar na memória todos os endereços relacionados a renderização da cena e inicializar as variáveis da playCB.

Ou seja, esta função deve estar **antes de qualquer outra função** da playCB.

**Nota:** esta função só pode ser chamada uma única vez durante a execução do programa.

## Janela de Contexto

```
void AbreJanela(float largura, float altura, const char* titulo)

```

Abre uma janela onde será renderizado todas as geometrias da playCB.

#### Parâmetros:

*largura*: Largura da janela

*altura*: Altura da janela

*titulo*: Nome da janela

#### Exemplo:

```
#include <playCB/playcb.h>

int main(){

    AbreJanela(400, 400, "Janela de contexto usando OpenGL");

    Desenha();

    return 0;
}

```

*Revisado dia 14/08/2015*
Beyond Words

A great general rides home after the war is over. The land is terrible; everywhere there are the testimonials to all the fighting and suffering and dying and destruction. He is well used to this and gives it no heed; he is glad the war is over again, at least for now.

As night falls, he makes camp in an abandoned building. He hears a sound, descends into the cellar and there he finds a small child, half starved and dirty, entirely abandoned. The general is a hard man, but he is also a good man; he takes the child which offers no resistance and brings it upstairs, begins to clean its face with water from his flask and discovers eventually that this is a little girl who survived the death of all her family somehow. She won't eat, but at some point in the night, the general awakes to find that the little girl has crept closer to him for warmth.

He takes the child in his arms, wraps his cloak about her and holds her tight; no words are spoken, but both are finding a healing in each other.
Oldest Green

There once was a man whose family had all died in a terrible plague; he alone remained and he decided that he too should now die. So he went into the wild woods all by himself to find his end there in some way.

After a day and a night, to heartsick to walk any further, he lies down at the foot of a great tree, and swears he'll not move again, and let the forest take him. But as he lies, and tries to die, something tickles his ear. He tries to ignore it, but the tickling gets too strong - it is a caterpillar walking on his ear. Annoyed and absolutely determined to die with grief, the man flings the caterpillar away and lies down again. Now, there's a creeping on his legs. He is lying on a nest of ants. In irritation, he throws off his clothes and finds a rock nearby to lie on, hard and cold. As he lies, he sees a bush full of tasty ripe red berries just ahead. Try as he might, his hunger gets the best of him and he has to go and eat some berries. And so it went from one thing to the next, and on, and on, and finally, and after many weeks, it slowly dawned on him that he was not alone.
The Innocent

The only child of the king was very pale and sickly from birth. All manner of potions and regimens were perpetrated upon him, and nothing made any difference. He faded away more and more and in his fear and worry, the king put out a call across all the lands for a healer to come forward to save his child. As everything had been tried already, no-one dared answer apart from one, a young woman in an exotic light orange veil from far away. The king was desperate and allowed her in.

She sent away all the many medics and all their harsh potions. She brought beautifully coloured soft blankets for the child and surrounded him in flowers. She sat with him and gently massaged his poor white limbs with precious oils for many days and many nights; she told him beautiful stories and she sang to him. Every morning and every night, a messenger would see the king and tell him that his son was still alive. And then one day, it wasn't the messenger - it was the boy himself, and he came running to his father, and both embraced in greatest joy.
The Garden

A young girl in a summer country garden plays with fairies and with dragonflies; she is entirely here, entirely in her world, surrounded safe by stately trees and trusty bushes, the flowers dance for her, the foliage applauds her every smile, her every step, and she is truly, in the garden of Eden, here and now, forever.
The Amazon

A party of young ladies on their way to a picnic has been surrounded by a bunch of ruffians. The ruffians shout abuse and laugh, enjoy the fear of the young ladies and becoming ever more aggressive and threatening.

Just as it seems the young ladies will come to no good here, from the trees there rides a knight in silver shining armour to the rescue!

The knight drives the ruffians away and saves the ladies.

"Oh thank you, Sir!" they cry, "What would we have done without you!" The knight reins in their proud horse, takes off their helmet, shakes out their long brown hair and laughs - the knight is a young woman too!
Washing Day

It is a beautiful day in early summer with a light fresh wind across the meadows and the grasses. A young woman carries a basket of laundry into the garden and begins to put white things on the washing line where it flutters merrily, soaking up the sunshine and the fresh air.

As she hangs up a very large, fresh smelling, beautifully clean and bright white bed sheet, she laughs and says to herself, "You'd never know! If only it could talk ..."
The Silver Lining

A young soldier awakens on a battlefield. He is confused and in great pain and it takes him a while to realise that it is already some days after the battle has finished, and all that's left are the dead which surround him.

He is cold, heartbroken at the loss of his friends and the loss of the war and is about to let himself sink into the earth and accept his final defeat when a flash catches his weary eye - the sun has broken through the clouds and bright white rays fall on the valley.

In an instant, he understands that he is still alive and that is all that matters for now. He gathers his strength and begins his long journey that will eventually, take him home.
Fountain Of Youth

A middle aged woman has been ill for a long time. She is worn out by all the pain and worry, the sleepless nights, and the fears about her life becoming only worse and worse, as every day passes. Her husband is very worried about her and the medics can't seem to help her much, her spirit feels very low and instinctively, her husband knows that unless her spirit can recover, her body hasn't got a chance.

So he visits with a wise woman out of sheer desperation, and she tells him about a fountain of youth in the forests deep and old. It is a long and arduous journey, but the husband loves his wife most dearly and he undertakes it for her sake and his.

He finds the fountain, sparkling green water emerging from deep within the earth. He fills a bottle, carries it home.

He sits with his wife and tells her of his journey as she tiredly sips the water he brought for her, and that night, the tide has turned, and in the morning, when she wakes, she has a smile to give.
Deep Roots

There once was a man who didn't like the small, old fashioned village in a far away corner of the kingdom where he grew up.

As soon as he was old enough, he went away, changed his name, the way he spoke and went to work in a great city. He got married and had children and never did he admit to where he had come from, declaring instead that he had been a foundling on the city's streets.

Then one day, a great disaster struck - the Earth shook, and the man became trapped with many others in the cellar of a building that had collapsed on top of them.

Everyone was terrified and no-one knew what to say or do, and it was then that to the man, there came a memory of an old song of his people, one that calls to the ancient Gods for help.
The Lucky Charm

A young man has fallen into bad company. He has become involved with a crowd of people who do no work, lie around all day, have a very negative attitude to all forms of achievement and like nothing better than to pull others into their misery and bring them down to their level.

His sister is very worried and seeks the advice of a wise magician, who gives her a lucky charm that her brother should wear, fashioned out of an unusual yellowish green metal that has a feeling of spring and great lightness about it. She visits her brother and gives this charm to him as a gift of her love.

He is most touched by her kindness and wears the charm proudly, and when the bad crowd makes fun of his lucky charm, his eyes are opened and he sees them for what they are - he leaves, never to return there.
The Updraught

Two children find a bird which seems to be listless and injured. They take it home, put it in a box and feed it, make a pet of it. The bird lives but still seems listless and sad. Eventually, their grandfather tells them that birds need to fly and be free, or else their lives are wasted - its what they were born to do, what the Creator made them for.

The children are a little bit sad but they understand. They take the bird back to the beach where they found it and let it out of the box.

The bird raises its head to the sky, flaps its wings and takes to the air - not much later, and it has found an updraught that carries it high, and higher still.
Bright & Breezy

A serious scholar sits by an open window in his study.

He is hunched over many dusty old books, squinting here and there, his brows deeply wrinkled, chewing on a pencil.

All of a sudden, a light breeze springs up and brings with it the scent of the garden into his musty study.

For a moment, he is irritated and tries to ignore it, but then he has to put down the pencil, shake his head and smile.
The Upward Spiral

A young boy runs down a spiral staircase from a high tower where lessons had taken place. The child sings, "I'm stupid, I'm useless, I'm worthless, I'm ugly, I'm bad," over and over as he skips down the stairs.

A passing traveller hears this echoing out of the doors of the tower and is appalled. As the child comes running out of the door, the traveller catches him by the collar and gives him a good shake before putting him back on his feet.

He tells the child in no uncertain terms that he was made by God himself, and God doesn't make ugly stupid things.

He gives the child another song to sing, "I'm clever, I'm strong, I'm loved, I'm good!" and sends him back up the spiral staircase to practise his new song.
The Champion

There once was a village in a beautiful valley and people lived there happily. But it so happened that vagrants came to the valley and the village, and they settled in, bringing with them lawless ways, a total disregard for anyone and everyone, cutting down fruit trees for fires they did not care to keep from spreading to the fields, defiling everything and spreading chaos, confusion and fear wherever they went.

The people in the village did not know what to do, but one day, a champion arrived and he got very angry when he saw what had happened to the once beautiful valley. Sword drawn and flashing high and hard, he drove the vagrants out, and out, and further still; he put the fear of God in them so they would never dare return.
Body Love

A woman stands by the side of the road and watches a festival parade. There is music and everyone is dressed up, everyone is dancing, laughing, celebrating. The whole town is full of excitement; and yet she stands like a statue, doesn't seem to notice the delicious scents of the festival feast floating in the air; doesn't seem to hear the laughter of the children; doesn't seem to feel the joyous rhythms of the drums that make everyone else's feet just want to dance.

A beautiful stranger steps up to her, stands right in front of her, catches her eye; he takes her and sweeps her off her feet, into a dance.

She is confused, bemused but he just laughs and holds her tight; and not much later, she begins to feel the warmth of his hands on her shoulder, on her hips.
The Axeman

Make a Start

When the pioneers moved into the Old West they found a vast land full of swamps and forests.

Each family had to try to carve a homestead out of the wilderness.

Families were left to their own resources and many had little in the way of tools and equipment.

One day the marshall of the county discovered a homesteader hacking away at a huge tree with a little hand axe.

'What are you doing?" he asked, astonished.

"I am clearing the forest' came the reply.

"But you will never clear the forest with that little axe" said the marshall.

"Maybe, maybe not" said the farmer, "but I can make a start with it, can't I?".
The Bear

Imagined Fears

A friend of mine went camping for the first time. The site was in the woods among tall trees and a stream nearby.

It was perfect.

After a meal cooked over the campfire my friend watched the sun go down and listened as everything grew quiet in the evening air.

The birds settled down and there was nothing to hear but the wind in the leaves. Soon the solitude and calm had a magic effect and my friend settled down to sleep.

Sometime in the night, my friend was wakened by a noise outside.

Not being an experienced camper, all the food had been left outside and a bear had smelled it, was digging through the packages, ripping open the plastic bags and rummaging through the backpack.

My friend lay there in the darkness, terrified to make a sound in case the bear heard.

The noises outside got nearer and louder. My friend spent the whole night straining to hear every sound and expecting the bear to tear the tent open any moment.

Morning came and my friend crawled out of the tent only to discover that a squirrel had been searching through the wrappings in the night.
Grown Up

A young lord is having a new palace built. He is dressed in multicoloured silks which are the fashion at this time, high heels that make him totter on his feet, and wears an enormous hat. His little daughter follows him about the work site, shouting at the workers, complaining and holding a handkerchief to his face to ward off the dust. Finally they tour the grounds, where a gardener is about to plant a spruce tree. "I don't want that there, I want it planted over here!" yells the lord. The gardener says, "With all respect, Sir, if I do that, the tree will die."

"So what!" screams the lord, red in his face, "Do as I say or I will have you beaten till you cry for mercy!"

The gardener stands up straight in his simple work clothes. He is a powerful man, strong and steady. Calmly he says, "You can beat me all you like, it won't stop the tree from dying if you plant it there."

The lord stares at him for a while, then drops his eyes and stalks off across the grass. His little daughter looks at the gardener and thinks, "When I grow up, I want to be like you."
Burning Desire

A woman who feels cold and lifeless went to see a spirit doctor for help. The spirit doctor took her into a special room and there was a special mirror that allows a person to see the other levels as well.

When the woman steps in front of the mirror, she sees that there is a crystalline cage around her - she is like a bird in a frozen cage!

"But how is this possible? How did this come to be?" cried the woman, and the spirit doctor shows her how she herself built the cage of ice over time, as a defence against feeling sad, and lonely.

He gives her a jar filled with special deep red fire and shows her how to use this to start melting the icy cage away.

"Don't worry," he says. "You are older and wiser now. You'll find out when you finally emerge that spring has come for you."
Success

A powerful man in his fifties stands on his own land, overlooking the rich, green fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. His arm is around his daughter's shoulder, and his granddaughter is holding his hand on the other side. “And just to think,” he says to them both, “It all started with a few berries, picked on the common, sold on a tiny market stall ...”
The Starfish

Everything is Important to Somebody

One day a great storm hit the coast of a lonely stretch of land.

The waves raged and surged but eventually the storm passed and the residents came down to the beach to see what might have been thrown up.

All along the beach were thousands of starfish, seastars struggling and dying in the bright sunshine.

And up ahead was one person picking up one starfish after the other and throwing them back into the water.

They asked why: after all there were thousands and thousands there and what difference could the actions of one person make?

And the person throwing them back held one up and said "Well, I guess it makes a difference to this one, doesn't it?".
The Future

A wise man walks along the side of a river. He hears weak calls for help and finds a person, clinging on to an old, dead branch for dear life.

"Help me," the person calls out as they see the wise man peek over the edge, "Get me out of here! I can't hold on any longer! Get me a rope, give me your hand!" The wise man looks around and spots a beautiful red flower growing on the riverbed. He picks it, holds it out and down to the person and says, "Take this. It's a magic flower. You'll be saved."

The person reaches for the magic flower and in so doing, lets go of the dead branch - the rushing river takes him away in an instance.

The wise man smiles and walks a little way further, where he finds the person, wet and bedraggled, washed ashore quite safely on a shallow stretch. He goes to the person, gives him the flower and says gently, "Told you so ..."
The Joy Of Work

A young boy has been told to wash up the dishes for the family. He is complaining bitterly because he would much rather be outside, playing with his friends. But there is nothing to be done, so sighing loudly and dramatically and muttering under his breath how unfair it all is, he starts to fill the sink with water and suds.

A shaft of sunlight comes through the kitchen window - and the water is transformed to liquid light, the bubbles are all beautiful spheres with many rainbows, dancing.

The boy is fascinated and begins his work, and not much later, he can be heard singing as one shiny clean plate after the next joins the others on the drying rack.
Wings

The coach of a high-born lady has got stuck in the mud, far from home. At first, only the servants were pushing; now, night is falling and even the high-born lady is struggling with the others in the mud, slipping and falling down, getting plastered in mud from head to toe, looking just the same as everyone else now.

A passing traveller of exotic origin pauses on a rise of the road and views the scene with much amusement for a while. Eventually, he rides down towards the weary, muddy strugglers and points a finger - a wave of invisible light travels towards them, enters into them, clears out their muddy thoughts and weary struggle of the day in an instance: they have an idea what to do! With renewed vigour, they set to work, and soon, the coach is freed, and finally, they're on their way.
The River

There once was a group of people who build a town so that they would be safe, no matter what. They made the walls incredibly high and incredibly thick; so it was always dark inside, and cold, and all things would turn mouldy. But the people thought all that better than to have to be terrified of attack; and they shivered together in the wet dark and told each other how lucky they were. Then, one day, there was a storm and somewhere, a lake burst its banks. It became a rushing river of bright, clear water and it tore straight towards the dank, dark town.

The inhabitants fled in terror just before the water made short work of the thick black walls, and they watched from a hill as their town was simply washed away.

On that night, the moon was bright; the air was sweetly scented and the grass soft and juicy, and as the survivors from the town looked around themselves, they began to realise that the new river just might have saved their souls, after all.
The Harvest Festival

In the last house in the village lives an angry, bitter old man. He speaks to no-one and scowls and growls if children play near his house. People have learned to stay well away from him.

On this day, the village celebrates their harvest festival with a great feast and gifts for all, but of course, no-one has invited the bitter old man and of course, he wouldn't dream to join them of his own accord.

A small child is told by an elder that everyone is celebrating, and the child looks and sees the old man standing half hidden behind the fence, watching the festival from afar. The child runs and gets a small cake, runs to where the old man is hiding and offers the cake.
The man looks down into the young child's radiant smile of innocence. He starts to cry; he takes the cake and eats it, and not long after, the villagers are astonished to see the child lead the old man to the festival, firmly by the hand.
New Roads

A good man has heard the call of God and has decided to go away from his family to live and study in a far away place with others who have heard the calling.

His wife, children, brothers, sisters, friends and his aged parents are in turmoil; they are alternating between pleading and crying and screaming with anger at him to change his mind.

The man is sad for them but his eyes and mind are already seeking the new road that leads to the top of the mountain where the others are awaiting him.