Short Stories

[Miss Jordan]

Where Is My Donkey



Everyone in the village got "pilgrimage fever" and everyone got busy packing up some traveling clothes and food for the road. All except for Nasrudin, who watched them laboring away. Soon, all of the village: the men, women, and children, were heading out to Mecca. They were singing songs and shouting with great excitement about how they were off to find God.

They got about one mile away, when Nasrudin suddenly riding up on his donkey, shouting about some terrible emergency. They caught the donkey and made him tell them what the problem was.

"I'm trying to find my donkey! Where is my donkey?"

"Why, Nasrudin, you're sitting on top of your donkey," answered the villagers.

"Oh really. Is that so? And why are you all going on a pilgrimage to find God?"

[Miss Jordan]

Pennies from Heaven



A woman of modest means and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. The boss was very wealthy, with an estate home and several cars costing more than the average house.

The woman delighted to experience first hand the life of the extremely wealthy. The boss indulged his guests both at home on his estate as well as out as exclusive dining establishments.

On one occasion as they were about to enter an exclusive restaurant, the boss was walking slightly ahead of them. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment.

An awkward silence folllowed. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, a few cigarette butts and assorted litter. Quietly, the rich man reached down and picked up the penny.

He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have of a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?

Throughout dinner, the penny bothered her. Finally, she causally mentioned that her son once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been rare.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see.

"Look at it." He said. "Read what it says." She read the words "United States of America."

"No, not that; read further."

"One cent?" "No, keep reading."

"In God we Trust?" "Yes!" "And?"

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it!

God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by?

When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!"

[Miss Jordan]

Cleaning Lady



During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?'

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

'Absolutely,' said the professor. 'In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello.'

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

[Miss Jordan]

Giving When It Counts



Many years ago , when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, 'Yes I'll do it if it will save her.' As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, 'Will I start to die right away'.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her but he had chosen to save her anyway.

[Miss Jordan]

Pickup In The Rain



One night, at 11:3 0 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 60s.. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached..

It read: 'Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away.. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.'

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

[Miss Jordan]

My Request to Buddha

Spiritual Story




I have a request to Buddha,

“Please let all my friends healthy and happy forever ?”

Buddha says,“Only four days!”

I say,“Alright, Spring-day, Summer-day, Autumn-day, Winter-day.”

Buddha says,“Three days!”

I say,“Alright, Yesterday, Today, Next-day.”

Buddha says,“No, Two days!”

I say,“Alright, White-day and Black-day.”

Buddha says,“Just one day!”

I say,“Alright, when all my friends are living in every single day.”

Buddha smiles and says,
“From now on, all your friends will be healthy and happy in every single day!”

NAN - WU - E - MI - TUO - FU

[Miss Jordan]

The Two Flower Merchants


One day, two flower merchants set up shop next to one another. They opened for business on the same day, carried the same lovely selection of aromatic flowers, and maintained similar prices for their marvelous plants. Both merchants took great care with raising their plants and both were kind and courteous to their customers. In fact, their stores appeared to be equal in every way.

At first, the merchants even received equal traffic through their shops, but–as time went on–the first merchant’s shop became more popular among the people. The second merchant noticed this and became concerned. One particularly slow day, he decided to look into the matter. As he stepped out his door to visit his neighbor, he passed one of his regular customers leaving the first merchant’s shop carrying their weekly purchase of flowers. In disbelief, the second merchant hurried into the next store.

Indeed, the store was teeming with customers. The second merchant noticed his competitor wasn’t taking the money himself, as he always did. The first merchant was out among the aisles, talking with his customers. To his amazement, the second merchant watched as the first would chat at great length with the customers and even would occasionally talk to the flowers themselves! The second merchant prided himself on being a serious store owner and could not understand this leisurely approach to running a shop. Yet this behavior seemed to be working for the first merchant, as his thriving store would attest.

When the second merchant could stand it no longer, he approached the first and politely asked to interrupt the conversation. The first merchant smiled, handed his customers to one of his clerks, and turned his attention to his exasperated neighbor.

The second merchant asked, “Brother, I am your humble student. Our stores are nearly the same in all ways, yet your results are doubling while mine are halving. I do not understand.”

“Brother,” the first merchant said, “We are the same in most ways, this is true. The difference lies in what we see with our hearts. You see your store as a store, your plants as plants, and your customers as customers. I see my store as a beloved home and my cherished friends are my customers, clerks and plants, all present to be adored. In that way, we are very, very different.”

[Miss Jordan]

Lesson from a Terrapin


There was a boy who found a terrapin, more commonly known as a turtle.

He started to examine it but the turtle pulled in its head and closed its shell like a vice. The boy was upset and he picked up a stick to try to pry it open.

The boy's uncle saw all this and remarked, "No, that's not the way! In fact, you may kill the turtle but you'll not get it to open up with a stick."

The uncle took the terrapin into the house and set it near the fireplace. It wasn't but a few minutes until it began to get warm. Then the turtle pushed out its head, then stretched out its legs and began to crawl.

"Turtles are like that," said the uncle, "and people, too. You can't force them into anything. But if you first warm them up with some real kindness, more than likely, they will do what you want them to do."

This story is originally from Disciple Magazine.

[Miss Jordan]

A Bank Savings Account Book



My mother sent me a bank savings account book on the eve of my wedding. There had $1000.00 in it. My mother smiled and said, 'You both are going to deposit some money in it from time to time, when something is worth for memorable. Besides the money, you both learn that there will have the unlimited of happiness as you both grow old together.'

My husband deposited $500.00 twice later on. Once, he was promoted at work. Another time, I got home after a very successful operation. I felt the absolutely warmest at the bottom of my heart. After all, my good health was the priority of his greatest happiness.

We started fighting a few years later...

My mother said to me, 'First of all, you both spend all the money from your account before the next move!' When we were going for a divorce, I looked into the bank book. I thought on the source of the money. Tears welled up in my eyes because it did accumulated lots of happiness inside. I gave it to him that night. I said, 'Hurry up to spend all the money before we divorce.'

He handed the bank book to me with $1000.00 extra more in it next day.
'This is the first time for me to realize that I'm still very much in love with you, I deposited $1000.00, so.' he said. We were reconciled since then.

Today is our 57th wedding anniversary and we still deposit the money into our account whenever there is something worth for memorable even now.
We know we will celebrate our every wedding anniversary until the end of the rainbow...

[Miss Jordan]

Predestined Affinity



Long long time ago, a young scholar arranged to marry his lovely betrothed. Everything was well prepared on schedule. When the day came, the bride to be-she got married to someone else. He was fallen apart at the seams and very sick. His parents tried so hard to raise his spirit up. Watching their only son nearly at his last gasp, they felt so impotent.

By that time, a monk learned of the circumstance. He decided to help the young man. The monk came to his bed. He took a mirror out of his pocket. He asked the young man to look into it. He saw a naked female corpse lying on a boundless seaside. A man passed by the scene, he shook his head with just one look. Then, he walked away. The second man appeared. He took off his coat to cover over the corpse. He left afterward. There came the third man, he excavated and buried the body carefully !
The young man was very curious about everything he saw. The screen changed suddenly. He saw his betrothed and her new husband. They were very much in love with each other. He confused.

The monk tried to explain, he said,“The corpse which had lain on the seaside, it was your betrothed preexistence. You were the second man whom to give her your coat. She fell in love with you this life because she wanted to return a favor to you. Ultimately, the only one she had to requite with her entire life. The one who had buried her, that one is her husband by now!”

The young scholar comprehended eventually. He recovered soon after and moved on with his life...