Stories for Middle School Teacher Workshop

Story One                                                                              

 The Starfish Story     

 Few stories have gained internet popularity the way "The Star Thrower" has. Most often it's sighted as "author unknown," but it is actually a classic from 1979 written by 

Loren Eiseley, who has been hailed as a modern day Henry David Thoreau. See "The Starfish Thrower"

The cold ocean water washed over his feet. The Old Man scanned the beach slowly. 

Hundreds of starfish littered the sand.  He bent over another sea star, lifted it up, waited for a wave to come in and gently tossed it out to sea.  

He stooped again, straightened and pitched another one, darker and heavier this time.  Often he imagined their life in the ocean, 

crawling across the watery sand in the rolling surf, operating solely on instinct.

A young man sat on an overlook, the wind and sea spray playing havoc with his hair and clothes. He studied the Old Man as he 

carried out his tedious endeavor. What a foolish undertaking!  What a misguided old-timer!  After scrutinizing his actions for a while,

 the Young Man clambered off the overlook and carefully picked his way around the craggy rocks, down to the beach.

Strolling over to the Old Man with a contemptuous smile, he said, “ You silly Old Man, what do you think you are doing?   

Look at the all those starfish ahead of you, and then look at the ones that have snuck up behind you.  Your work will never be done.  

What difference do you think you can make?”

The Old Man looked the Young One straight in the eye, carefully scooped up still another starfish in his weather-beaten hand 

and threw it into the sea.  He glanced at his challenger and said, “It made a difference to that one.”

BONES: Person throwing starfish into the water. A naysayer comes along and says that what he is doing is nonsense…that it makes no difference. The other person says that it makes a difference to this one.

Story Two

The Donkey in the Well                                              

Once a man and his donkey were walking through a barren desert. The sun was high and there was no shade in sight. Suddenly, the donkey disappeared into an old, dry, abandoned well shaft. The man was dismayed at the loss of his donkey. He cried, he wailed…but there was no one to hear him. What could he do? (here I sometimes stop the story and ask what could be done) The man heard the poor beast crying for help. He knew that without water the donkey would die a slow death. He thought the most humane thing to do would be to bury him in the sand to quicken its certain death. With heavy heart he began shoveling the sand into the hole with his bare hands.

But, the minute that sand touched that donkey’s back, it shook it off, stamped it down, and raised itself up. The man threw more sand. Again, the donkey shook it off, stamped it down and raised itself up. Again and again and little by little that donkey shook off that sand, stamped it down and raised himself up, until he had raised himself out of that hole.

Life sometimes is like that. Sometimes we get hit with all kinds of nasty stuff. We can either stand there and let it kill us…or we can take a lesson from the donkey…shake it off, stamp it down, and raise up!

 Bones: Donkey falls into well. (Farmer) tries to get him out but can’t decides it’s more humane to bury him. As he throws dirt the donkey shrugs it off and stamps it down. Then takes a step up. He keeps doing that until he is free.

 This story hits the moral of the story rather hard. You can use that ending or make up your own.

 ** This story is ripe for participation – something the donkey says or sings when the dirt hits him.

See Donkey in the Well: An Inspirational Story

Story Three:

It Takes Two to Move the Stone   

A father who takes his son in a wagon on a winding mountain road to do his selling. There is

 a giant boulder that has fallen in the road. Boy gets out and boasts, “I'll take care of it.”  He tries moving it, won't budge, he takes 

a board out of wagon to push it or wedge it off road, won't budge, horse and wagon 

cannot go around this boulder, no room and steep cliff on other side. His father asks if he's thought of everything. 

”Oh I see something else.” He gets a piece of burlap and tries to place it under the rock to slide it, but It won't budge. 

Son gets into wagon and sadly says, "Papa I guess we'll have to go back home today. I can't move the rock.”

“Have you thought of everything you could do?” asks the Papa. 

“Oh yes,” says the son. 

“Everything?”

“Yes, everything.”

“No,” says Papa, “you didn't think of asking me to help you.”

 And together they took little hammers and hammered away the rock in the road. Too often in life, we forget to ask for help to do the

 hard tasks in our lives.

BONES:

Rock or obstacle in the way of father and son. Son can’t move it. Son tries many ways. Finally, the father tells him he hasn't tried one way - to ask for help. The two of them move the stone.

Story Four:

The Cracked Pot                                         

Long ago in far away China there was a poor water-bearer. Every day he had to carry the water miles from the fresh water stream up to the emperor’ s palace. One day the water-bearer was given two new beautiful pots to carry the water.

However, he soon noticed that one pot had a flaw. It was cracked and leaked water. By the time he came back to the palace every day, the cracked pot only had half the water that the other pot held.

One day, the two pots were awaiting the water-bearer when the whole pot said, “Look at you. You are a disgrace. Our master, the water-bearer, must work ten times harder because of that disgusting leak in your side. I, on the other had, am perfect. Each day, I am the honored one to bring so much water.”

The cracked pot listened in dismay. Never before did it realize that it was such a burden. “I didn’t know that I was a burden. I only did my job as best I could.”

When the water-bearer returned, he talked to the pots as if they were old friends. “Ah, my precious pots, are you ready for another journey to the stream?” He picked them up and began his long walk when he heard a small sigh coming from the cracked pot. “What is wrong my most precious one?”

The cracked pot sighed, “I am so sorry that I have caused you such hard work. It is because I am cracked that you must make more visits to the stream. I am worthless, please smash me and put me out of my misery.”

But, the water-bearer looked at the cracked pot and gently said, “Where did you ever get the idea that you are worthless! Yes, it is true that I make more journeys to get water, but because you have a crack and leak water along the way, I have planted seeds. Just look…one side of the road is barren, but where you leaked your water, many beautiful flowers grow. I think if you ask those flowers, they will agree that you are not only a beautiful pot, but that you, and you alone, are reason that the world is little more brighter place to live. 

Bones:

A water-bearer carries two large pots on a yoke across his shoulders up the hill from the river to his master's house each day. One has a crack and leaks half its water out each day before arriving at the house. The other pot is perfect and always delivered a full portion of water after the long walk from the river.

Finally, after years of arriving half-empty and feeling guilty, the cracked pot apologized to the water-bearer. It was miserable. "I'm sorry that I couldn't accomplish what the perfect pot did."

The water-bearer says, "What do you have to apologize for?"

"After all this time, I still only deliver half my load of water. I make more work for you because of my flaw."

The man smiled and told the pot. "Take note of all the lovely flowers growing on the side of the path where I carried you. The flowers grew so lovely because of the water you leaked. There are no flowers on the perfect pot's side."

See "The Cracked Pot"

Story Five:

The Fence of Nails      

 
There was a boy that had a hard temperament. His father gave him a sack with nails and said him that, every time, that he lose the patience, he should fix one nail in the fence that was in the back house. In the first day the boy fixed 37 nails in the fence. Then, he began to diminish gradually. He discovered that was more easy to control his temperament than to pound nails in the fence. Finally, it came the day in which the boy didn't lose more his patience. He told that to his father that said him that now, the boy takes off one nail from the fence each day that he gets to control his temperament.

The days were passing away and the boy could, finally, to tell to his father that there were not more nails in the fence. The father caught his son by his hand and led him until the fence and he said: "You did well, my son. But, see the holes in the fence. The fence never more will be the same. When you speak things with hate, they do a scar like these. You may to knife a man and take off the knife. No matter, how many times you say: "I'm sorry". The wound will stay there. One verbal wound is so many bad as a physical one. Friends are like rare jewels. They do us to smile and they encourage us to continue walking. They listen to us, bring us consolation and always they are ready to open their hearts to us. 

Bones:

Boy (?) has such a bad temper that his father (?) makes him drive a nail into a fence at each outburst. At first the boy spends a lot of time driving nails, but as days go by he drives fewer and fewer nails until none. Now, says the father, take out the nails, and the boy does. Look at fence – can never entirely patch those holes with “I’m sorry.” The wound is there to stay…the same with verbal insults.

Story Six:

 The Wishing Ring    

A couple was quite poor and found themselves in a desperate situation.  The wife sent her husband with enough food for a three day journey to a clearing in the woods with instructions to climb the tree and remove the eggs.   The husband found the tree, climbed it and discovering a nest with two eggs inside pushed it out of the tree.  Inside one egg was a plain gold ring and inside the other an eagle who could talk.  The eagle told the husband, the ring was magic and he could have anything he wished for but only one wish. 

The husband carried the ring two days journey and came upon an inn.  He stopped for the night where the crafty  innkeeper learning the secret of the ring and switched rings with him.  After the husband's departure, the innkeeper wished for a pile of gold, an amount so cumbersome and largesse it promptly fell on top of the innkeeper killing him dead.   When the husband arrived home, he told his wife about the ring and they discussed what they should wish for.  Finally the husband and wife agreed that if they worked really hard they could accumulate the very thing they desired and could save the wish for when they really needed it.

 When spring came, the couple looked over the past year's work and to their joy realized they had indeed accomplished their goal.  So they set another goal for the following year and once again managed to acquire  more land and good fortune.  Year after year, they would come together every spring to discuss what their wish would be,  As fate would have it, each year the couple would have succeeded again and grew to be very wealthy owning surrounding lands and considerable success without actually using the wish.  By the end of their lives the couple had amassed quite a fortune and both died the same day.  the youngest son uncovered the ring and wanted to make the wish, but the oldest son mandated that the ring would be buried with their parents.  And that is what was done. 

 Bones : A person happens upon a ring (or some sort of token). Told that this ring will grant one wish. One the way home, someone switches rings. Thief wishes for a huge pile of gold that is so big it promptly falls on the thief killing instantly. Person goes home thinking he/she still has the wishing ring. Decides to do work to accomplish his wish and, instead, saves the wish for when he/she really needs it. Grows prosperous through hard work…never needing the wish. When dies, the ring is buried with him/her.

  Story Seven

  A Candle in the Barn     

King  has three children. They are given the task to see who should inherit his wealth. Each is given a purse of gold,  "My child who 

can do most with the money will be fittest to reign." A year and a day later they must return and show what they have done in the barn to

see who can fill it the fullest!

The three leave the castle.

During the year they are away, king sickens, fit to die. Lonely, regrets that he sent them away, but too late. 

Year is up, they return, first prince  brings straw - tells father that he reckoned this would fulfill the terms of the task. But no matter how much he puts in the barn it is not enough.

Second prince brings weeds and bracken - even bigger pile. Smiles as father just looks sadly on as it never fills the barn.

Third, princess, seems to have brought nothing. Brothers smile "She who brings nothing, gets nothing!"

Instead ,she calls for the barn doors to be closed, the windows to be shuttered. In the sudden darkness she lights a candle, 

and as it is burning, she sings a song. Her father says. You have filled the room three times over.

First you have filled it with light, and light is knowledge. Then, you filled it with song and song is joy. 

"And knowledge and joy together make wisdom; and I have learnt much wisdom today." With that he gives the keys of his kingdom to his 

youngest daughter.

Bones:

A man tells his 3 children that whoever can fill a room/barn/hall/etc will inherit his land. They leave for a year and return. First with feathers, the 

second with weeds. Neither can fill the space. The last child closes all the doors and windows and lights a single candle filling it with light. Some 

versions add music, knowledge, wisdom, love, family, laughter, etc.

Here is my version: This Little Light of Mine

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