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last updated 2 March, 2007
WHY USE STORIES?

Storytelling is a very important activity than can be carried out children's classes. Many stories illustrate how ethical and moral principles can be applied. Other stories show the rewards for good deeds and the consequences of undesirable behavior.*

Below are some samples of stories that we are currently using. Each story comes with a set of related discussion questions. Let us know if you know of any stories that we can use in our lesson plans.

 
   
   
SAMPLE STORIES  
The Blind Men and the Elephant
Disaster Strikes
Teddy's Wish
The Ringstone Symbol & The Calligrapher
Alice and Her Teachers
All That is Best in Life
Abraham and the Idols
From a Drop to an Ocean
The Test of Gold
 
   
   
   
 
THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT  
The people who lived in a small village were always arguing and fighting among each other about God and different religions. They could never agree to a common answer. So they came to the Buddha to find out what exactly God looks like. The Buddha asked his disciples to get a large magnificent elephant and six blind men. He then brought the blind to the elephant and asked them to describe what an elephant looks like. The first blind man touched the elephant leg and reported that it "looked" like a tree trunk. The second blind man touched the elephant’s stomach and said that the elephant was a wall. The third blind man touched the elephant ear and said that it was a fan. The fourth blind man touched the elephant’s tail and described the elephant as a piece of rope. The fifth blind man felt the elephant's tusks and described it as a spear. And the sixth blind man rubbed the elephant’s snout and got very scared because he thought it was a snake. All of them got into a big argument about the "appearance" of an elephant...
 
   
   
 
DISASTER STRIKES  
Trina was going to school for the first time. She was going to kindergarten and she was a bit afraid. When the students went into the classroom the teacher was not there, so some of the students started to play. They did not know how to act in school because it was their first time in school. Some of the kindergarteners took chalk and wrote on the walls. Others started to use crayons to draw pictures on the desks. Trina tried to tell some of the children to clean up the room and sit down in the chairs, but no one listened to her because she is not a teacher ...
 
   
   
 
TEDDY'S WISH  
Teddy was at home feeling unhappy. His sister, Emma, had a new toy, but he didn’t have one. He wanted to take Emma’s toy and hide it from her; then he would feel better ...
» read Teddy's Wish
 
   
   
 
THE RINGSTONE SYMBOL & THE CALLIGRAPHER  
There is an old saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It would take more than a thousand words to properly explain the relationship between God, His Messengers, and us. About a hundred years ago, Baha’u’llah’s son, Abdu’l-Baha, designed the Ringstone Symbol to ‘paint a picture’ of this relationship ...
 
   
   
 
ALICE AND HER TEACHERS  

Alice is going to kindergarten this year. Her sister Audrey is going to fourth grade. They are both learning how to write… Alice is learning how to print while Audrey is learning cursive script. One afternoon, while they were sitting together and doing their homework, Alice said, “Audrey, your writing is bad; let me show you how to write.” ...

 
   
   
 
ALL THAT IS BEST IN LIFE  

Mirza Mahmud and Aqa Rida were like lamps - lamps lit with God's love. They served others in every imaginable way. Their services were many – too many to count ...

 
   
   
 
ABRAHAM & THE IDOLS  

As a boy, Abraham lived with his family, who like other people in the area called Babylonia worshipped idols. These idols were made of stone or wood. Some people during that time worshipped the stars the sun or the moon; others worshipped their king or other leaders ...

 
   
   
 
FROM A DROP TO AN OCEAN  

Mr. Olinga traveled around the world. He would tell all the Baha’is he met to carry Baha’u’llah’s special message to others in their families, their towns, and around the world. He was reminding them of Baha'u'llah’s words: “The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation... Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good… It behoveth every one … to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other” ...

 
   
   
 
THE TEST OF GOLD  

... Baha’u’llah always knew that Haji Muhammad’s desire for wealth would bring him pain. But He gave Haji Muhammad vast riches anyway. Why would Baha’u’llah allow us to suffer pain? Because, like He says in the Hidden Words, “Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.” ...

 
   
   
   
 
   

* From the Ruti Institute's Book 3 ("Teaching Children's Classes - Grade 1"), the Ruhi Foundation, Columbia, 1987, Palabra Publications (www.palabrapublications.com). For more Ruhi resources, visit www.ruhiresources.org.

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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