Kid's Parables

1. The Story of the Lost Farm Pet and the Gift of Caring

Janie lived on a farm and she helped care for 2 dogs, 4 cats and 4 kittens. One day a kitten named “Cutie” wandered off. Janie liked all her animals, so when Cutie became lost, she went to look for her. She looked for Cutie everywhere, and she was so excited when she found Cutie, and Cutie was happy to see Janie too. Now when her sisters, who were older, asked her why she wasted her time looking for one little kitten (knowing there would probably be another litter), Janie said, “this one little kitten is just as special as each of you. I would look for you if you were lost, so why not look for little Cutie. Little Cutie is part of our family and is as special as any of us. So, come on be happy, Cutie is back with us!"

2. The Story of the Lost Money and the Gift of Appreciation

It was a beautiful day and Bobby was riding on his bike. It was really beautiful because he had an envelope with $100 on the back of his bike, and he was heading for the store to buy an I Pod. He had performed chores and helped out whenever and wherever he could to earn enough money to buy his very own. When he arrived at the store he turned to get his money, and he saw it was gone! Broken-hearted, feeling kinda dumb for what happened, he returned home the same way he came, hoping he would find his money on the road. When he got home, he saw his mom and the neighbor lady, Mrs. Smith in the front yard. Red faced and embarrassed he told his mom what happened and how he looked and looked for the lost money. That’s when Mrs. Smith opened her hand and showed Bobby she had found his money on the side of the road. He was so appreciative of Mrs. Smith, that he gave a portion of his hard-earned money, for he was so happy someone had found it and not kept it. (You know, “finder’s keepers, loser's weepers”). Two weeks later, Bobby went to the store with more money, secure in his pocket. Now he is listening to his favorite songs on his I Pod and thanking Mrs. Smith for being such a thoughtful person.

3. The Girl Who Cared Only About Herself

There was a young girl named Rachel, and she thought only about herself. She was always asking her Mom for advances on the work she did around the house, and even for the work she did for others. One day, she asked her Mom if she could have her share of the insurance policy her Mom had for herself. Now, that’s pretty selfish; her Mom was still alive! And yet, her Mom agreed. So Rachel, with her insurance share in hand, took off on a trip (by jet) to the Bahamas. She promptly wasted her money, eating junk food, buying jewelry and, tee-shirts for herself (which she didn’t need), giving money away to new found so-called friends who took advantage of her, and all other sorts of wasteful things; too many to mention. Needless to say, she quickly ran out of money, her so-called friends left her and she had to fend for herself. She had to get a job to support herself. She got a job cleaning out the cages at a chicken processing plant and then clean the floors after they had been processed. It was dirty, ugly work. With no place to stay, she saved what little money she could, and then hired on a boat back home. And who was waiting for her, when she got off the boat; her mom was waiting. Rachel thought her Mother would be angry, but she was smiling and hugged her when she saw her (even as smelly as she was)! Rachel learned a lot about love and understanding that day, and that to love oneself means to love others first. That’s what her mother did, putting others first, with no strings attached (loving unconditionally). “I love you mom,” said Rachel, who has now learned to love as her mother does.