A farmer in the state of Song once obtained a piece of stone containing jade. He presented it to Prime Minister Zi Han, who refused the gift.
The farmer explained, "It appears to be an ordinary stone, but it holds jade within. It is a treasure, fitting for a nobleman like yourself, not for a commoner like me."
"I know there is jade inside," replied Zi Han. "But I disagree. I believe the true treasure is the virtue of declining what does not rightfully belong to one."
This fable illustrates how a shared crisis can unite even...
A carpenter mistreats his elderly father until his young ...
An eaglet raised among prairie chickens lives and dies be...
The narrator questions if her hardworking, unromantic par...
A mother's desperate struggle with an alligator saves her...
A father's humble pickle jar, steadily filled with pocket...
A story about Huang Gong, whose excessive modesty led him...
The article explores the transformative power of forgiven...
A man, prompted by his wife, takes his widowed mother on ...
An 87-year-old woman named Rose fulfills her lifelong dre...
The author recalls a childhood lesson from his grandmothe...
On their 50th anniversary, Sam asks Becky if she ever che...
A man learns the secret of a magical touchstone hidden am...
The story of Wen Tong, a Song Dynasty scholar-painter ren...
The narrator recounts how her father's lifelong support a...
A bright boy struggles with loneliness and falling grades...
In an ancient era of immensely long lives, King Makhadeva...
The story of artist Wen Tong illustrates how deep, sustai...
A school bus driver forms a challenging but ultimately tr...
The author encounters a toll booth worker who transforms ...