LeSSoN 5

THE ISLAND OF ORADO (Traditional Russian Tale)


<< All That Glitters Is Not Gold >>


Before, to get rich overnight, people looked for treasures on desert islands. Today, one has to pick the right numbers on the lottery.


In Moscow lived Fédor Budonov, a rich old man who counted his gold coins every day. Meanwhile, his servant Boris had to be satisfied with hearing the jingle and obey his lord.


One day, Budonov heard talk about an island where there was an immensse mountain of gold, and since he never had enough, he sailed with his servant to that place. When he saw the mountain, Budonov's eyes shined in such a way that... Then he took out a strange little bottle and made Boris drink it. In just a few minutes, the boy fell asleep. The old man put him in a cow's skin and called several crows to carry him up to the top of the gold.


When Boris woke up, he saw he couldn't go down from there and had no alternativa but to obey his greedy master: he dug night and day to dig out the nuggets, which the old man kept in chests. There was no rest for Boris, until one night the mountain changed into a volcano: with a roar it threw the young man through the air, and after several turns he fell safely to the beach. But his master didn't have the same luck, and was petrified by the lava, along with his golden mountain. Fortunately, Boris fled with the treasure.


Wealth can enslave as much as proverty. So it will be better for us to look for alternatives that lead us to freedom.

LeSSoN 4

THE THREE SISTERS (Traditional Greek Tale)


<< Mistaken envy >>


Are you satisfied with what you have, or do you want what your brothers and neighbors have?


Three sisters were so poor that hunger set off their imaginations in such a way that... the oldest one saw herself married to the royal chef, the middle one to the king's treasurer, and the youngest one to the prince. And without knowing how, it turned out that their dreams came true and they went to live in the palace.


But a war broke out and the prince set off to defend his kingdom. Within a few months his wife had twins. But her envious sisters put the babies in a basket and threw it into the river, running downstream. They told the poor princess that her children had been born dead and shut her up in a tower.


The little ones were recued by some farmers, but since they were very old they soon died and the children were alone until they found a fairy. The fairy told them that they had to find the golden bird, but before that they had to spend a night holding on to the leaf of a cypress tree.


The little ones were so afraid that they were on the point of giving up but... at dawn, the golden bird appeared and led them to the palace. There the prince told them the truth and they freed the princess. But they weren't happy until the envious sisters disappeared from their life and wandered forever without finding true love.


Although we may not have everything we want, we have to be content with our lot in life. Live happily, be happy!