Riaz came running into the house shouting. (It was Riaz…of course he was shouting!)
“Disneyland!! Disneyland!! Disneyland!!” Asma, Mona, Shahla and Anisa came running to see what he was yelling about! “There is a Disneyland here!” shouted Riaz, jumping up and down! “Disneyland? Here in Okinawa?” asked Shahla, getting all excited. “HERE IN JAPAN!” Riaz shouted. Mona and Asma looked at each other and shook their heads. “Riaz! Disneyland is in Tokyo!” Mona explained. “I know! My friend went there with his family on summer break!” Shahla and Anisa jumped up and down holding hands. “Yeah! Disneyland! Let’s go!!!” Asma shook his head again. “Do you guys know where Tokyo is?” “IN JAPAN!” Riaz shouted! “Here in Japan!” “Oh my Gosh! Riaz! Calm down!” said Mona loudly, to get everyone’s attention. “It’s like a whole other country away! We are closer to Taiwan and 
China than TOKYO! Asma go get a map and show them!” Asma ran to his room and found the map in his social studies book. “Okay you guys…where are we in Okinawa?” asked Asma. The children found it on the map. “Now…where is Tokyo?” They found Tokyo as well. “Wow! That’s far!” said Shahla.
“Yeah, about 12 hours by boat to Kyushu, that first big island in Japan, then another maybe 12 hours to Tokyo! It’s about 2,000 km!” explained Mona. “Well, we could always go by airplane!” said Riaz! “Way too expensive even for just one person…. Think about the cost of getting the five of us plus Mom and Dad there,” said Asma. “WAH!!!” little Anisa started crying and ran into the kitchen, where Mother was sitting and painting a picture. Anisa jumped into Mother’s lap, almost getting a face full of paint. “I wanna go to Disneyland!” she 
cried. The other children followed Anisa into the kitchen. Asma explained to Mother what was going on. Then he turned to the other children and said, “We are never going to get to go to Disneyland, so stop thinking about it!” 
Shahla stomped her feet and yelled, “Why do we have to be so far away from everything!”
Mother looked at the sad (and angry) faces of her children and said, “If you spend your lives thinking about what you don’t have, you will always be unhappy. But if instead you only think of 
things you are thankful for, you will always be happy.” Mother smiled and continued. “Let me tell you two stories about two different women; I want you to think about which one you think you want to be like.”
The children all sat down around the table to hear Mother’s stories… but none of them looked happy about it. Mother wiped the paint off her paintbrush and started the first story.
“Once upon a time there was a poor fisherman and his wife. One day when the man was fishing, he pulled out a beautiful Golden Fish. Surprisingly, the fish spoke to him saying, ‘Please put me back and I will grant you a wish.’ The man thought a minute and laughing, said, ‘Something to eat for dinner, since we won’t be eating you!’ and he threw the fish back in the water. The man laughed all the way home thinking how silly it was that a fish could grant wishes. ‘I probably imagined the whole thing,’ he thought. When the fisherman arrived home, however, his wife ran to him saying, ‘a complete cooked dinner was on our table when I came
into the house! Who could have done it?’ The 
fisherman was very surprised when he saw the dinner and told his wife all about the magic fish. His wife got angry and shouted at the fisherman, ‘You stupid man! You could have asked for a nice big house, not just one little dinner! Go back and demand a big beautiful house from that fish!’
“The man looked longingly at the delicious dinner, but his wife shooed him out the door. He went back to the place where he had found the fish and called out to it. The fish came up to the surface, and the man explained about his wife. The fish was not too pleased, but he agreed to the nice house. When the man returned, very tired and hungry to the house, his wife said. ‘That’s better, but it could have been a castle! Go back and insist on a castle!’ The man said, ‘I’m tired and hungry let me eat and rest first. The woman was very angry, but she agreed. First thing the next morning he was kicked out of the house and sent to find the fish.” “What a mean lady!” Anisa said, and all the children agreed.
Mother continued, “The man went back and found the fish again and timidly asked for the castle. The fish was
angry, but agreed, but when the man got home the woman was still angry and insisted on being queen, to fit nicely into the castle. The fish was getting very, very angry but agreed to make her queen. “When the man got home…you will never guess…” “She was still angry!” the children all shouted!
“Yes!” agreed Mother, “and she asked to be made ruler of the world! The fish was so angry when he heard that, he said, ‘That’s it! She has nothing!’ The fisherman went home to his poor old house with his angry wife…and he just 
smiled! The 
End!” The children all shouted at once, “What a greedy woman!” “How ungrateful!” “I don’t like her!” “Poor fisherman: to have her for a wife!”
Mother said, “Now I have one more story…Once there was a poor woman who was walking home when 
she saw an old, cracked iron pot. ‘Oh! that will make fine flowerpot for my garden! I am the luckiest 
woman in the world!’ and she put her shawl around the pot and started dragging the heavy pot behind her. She was very tired and stopped to rest and saw that the pot was full of gold coins! ‘GOLD COINS! I am the luckiest woman in the world!’ and she started pulling her pot again. She stopped to rest and looked back at the pot and saw that it had changed into a big piece of silver. ‘Oh, silver is 
much better than gold, I can exchange it for money much easier, no one would have believed that I had come by the gold coins honestly. I am the luckiest woman in the world!’ and she continued to pull the piece of silver. She stopped to rest and looked, and it had changed into a piece of iron! She said, ‘Oh, I am the luckiest woman in the world, iron is much easier to change 
for coins.’ She continued pulling until she stopped and saw that it had changed again. This time it had become a big stone. ‘Oh! that would be perfect to hold my door open with! I am the luckiest woman in the world.’ She was just at her door when she looked, and the stone changed before her eyes into a beautiful big horse. The horse looked at her, neighed, reared his front legs, then ran off over the hill…never to be seen again.
Guess what the woman said!” “Why did I keep stopping after it had become gold!” Riaz suggested, and everyone laughed. “She said,” Mother corrected, “‘I am the luckiest woman in the world! I found a magic pot and have had a wonderful adventure!’” “Now,” 
asked Mother, “what is the difference between these two women? They both started with nothing and ended up with 
nothing… but which do you think was happier, which would you prefer to be like?” “The first woman was never satisfied, never grateful, so she was always unhappy,” said Asma. “And the second one was always grateful, and always happy!” finished Shahla. “I want to be like the woman with the pot!” said Anisa, jumping up and down. “What does this have to do with Disneyland?” asked Riaz, frowning.
“Well,” explained Mother, “Let’s be like the second woman, and think of things to be grateful for. We live on beautiful Okinawa, what are some good things 
about that?” The children thought a minute. “It never gets very cold, so we can play outside all year round!” suggested Mona. “Yeah, and we can swim most of the year!” put in Shahla. “We can go to a different park to play in every Sunday!” little Anisa said excitedly. “Yes, there are lots of parks to play in here in Okinawa,” agreed Mother. “And the amusement park with all the rides!” added Shahla. Riaz looked at the painting Mother had been working on. “The Aquarium! That’s a painting of me when I got to give instructions to the dolphin!” Riaz said, smiling. Mona looked at some of Mother’s other 
paintings on the walls. “Ryukkyu Village! We get to go there to see how all the olden Okinawans lived in the olden days!” “Snorkeling and seeing all the beautiful fish!” suggested Riaz. “Learning how to row in the canoe races!” said Asma. The children had many more fun and wonderful things to say about why they were grateful for living in Okinawa. They had forgotten all about Disneyland! Father was standing at the door listening to all this; no one had even noticed him. “So, remember children,” he finally said, and everyone was surprised to see him. “Whenever you are sad about something you don’t have, just think of all the things you do have, and be grateful. ‘Gratitude 
turns what we have into enough!’ Do you know Aesop’s Fables? That is from one of them.” “Dad, can we go 
snorkeling tomorrow?” asked Riaz. All the children looked expectantly at Father. Father smiled and said, “I would love that! Let’s do it!” And all the children cheered! “Yeah Okinawa!” they all shouted!
Quiz
At the beginning of the story, why was Riaz so happy?__________________________________________________________________________- Where do the children live?
___________________________________________________________________________ - Is Okinawa near Tokyo?
___________________________________________________________________________ - In the first story, what magic creature was granting wishes to the fisherman?___________________________________________________________________________
- Which wish, when granted, made the fisherman’s wife grateful?___________________________________________________________________________
- In the second story, what did the woman find?
___________________________________________________________________________ - What did the pot turn into first?
____________________________________________________________________________ - Was the woman grateful at the beginning of the story? Was she happy at the end of the story? Why?_______________________________________________________________________
- What did the children think of about Okinawa that made them grateful?
___________________________________________________________________________ - What should you do if you are not happy about what you can’t have?
____________________________________________________________________________
How did you do?
Answers are on the Parent’s Page!
Virtues Game
(Can be played online with distant friends or family)
- Print out the Game
- Have one die ready (singular of dice)
- Have a marker (coin or tiny toy) for each player. (In case of online playing, put the board on the screen and have the leader mark individuals places with stamps, hearts, checks etc.)
- Youngest player goes first: roll the die and move your marker to that spot.
- If it is a virtue box, follow the instructions.
- Next person’s turn.
- Exact number needed to win the goal.
- Let everyone continue until all have reached the goal!
- Don’t forget to be happy for each person that reaches the goal and congratulate them! 😉
Parents Page
“Do you realize how much you should thank God for His blessings? If you should thank Him a thousand times with each breath, it would not be sufficient because God has created and trained you. He has protected you from every affliction and prepared every gift and bestowal. Consider what a kind Father He is. He bestows His gift before you ask. We were not in the world of existence, but as soon as we were born, we found everything prepared for our needs and comfort without question on our part. He has given us a kind father and compassionate mother, provided for us two springs of salubrious milk, pure atmosphere, refreshing water, gentle breezes and the sun shining above our heads. In brief, He has supplied all the necessities of life although we did not ask for any of these great gifts. With pure mercy and bounty He has prepared this great table. It is a mercy which precedes asking. There is another kind of mercy, which is realized after 
questioning and supplication. He has bestowed both upon us — without asking and with supplication. He has created us in this radiant century, a century longed for and expected 
by all the sanctified souls in past periods.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá “Anybody can be happy in the state of comfort, ease,health, success, pleasure and joy; but if one will be happy and contented in thime of trouble, hardship and prevailing disease, it is the proof of nobility.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Quiz Answers: 1) He heard there was a Disneyland in Japan. 2) Okinawa, Japan. 3) No, it’s not. 4) A Magic Fish. 5) None of them. 6) An Iron Pot. 7) A pot full of gold coins. 8) Yes, and Yes. 9) Warm weather, beaches, parks, amusement parks, canoe racing, aquariums, etc. 10) Think of things you are grateful for.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]