Currently AGA is getting a make-over, this new side bar included as well as a new skin. Polls will be up shortly for an activity this month, make sure to pull in your vote. In other news, the weather is now up so make sure that you follow that accurately. Our other Admin, Cassie, won’t be on as often but we all hope she comes back soon!
The Ungrateful Tiger « Result #1 on Mar 9, 2009, 8:51pm »
A long time ago, high in the mountains, the people of a small village came together to decide what to do about tigers wandering near their home.
"We have to do something! With all these tigers wandering around we're too scared to go out of the village" said one man.
"Yes! we have to do something. Last week a tiger ate one of my legs" said another, pointing to his leg that was not there.
After much talking the villagers decided the best thing to do was to dig deep holes to trap the tigers. Everyone helped, including the bigger children and the man who's leg was not there. They dug deep holes near all the tracks leading to the village.
A few days later a young man came to visit his uncle and heard loud howling sounds as he walked along a track to the village.
"What's making all that noise?" he asked. "Whatever it is it doesn't sound very happy".
The young man followed the howling sounds until he saw a deep hole with a tiger in it. The tiger tried to jump out and each time he fell back and howled.
"Hello Mr. Tiger" said the young man. "How did you get down there?"
"I don't know" cried the tiger. "I was walking along in the forest as tigers do, looking for something to eat, when suddenly I fell into this deep hole".
The tiger pleaded with the young man to help him. "Please, please help me get out of here. My wife and children will be worried about me. If you help me I'll be very grateful".
The young man was a very kind person. He found a large tree branch that had fallen on the ground and pushed and pulled it to the side of the deep hole.
"Watch out Mr. Tiger" yelled the young man as he pushed it down inside.
The tiger sprang up the branch and out of the deep hole.
"Ah! that's better" said the tiger pleased to be free.
The young man felt suddenly very nervous, standing next to the large tiger and decided to leave.
"I must be going now. Good-bye Mr. Tiger" he said.
"Not so fast" said the tiger. "I'm going to eat you".
"But, but, you said you'd be grateful if I helped you" stammered the young man.
"I am grateful" said the tiger. "But it was humans who dug that hole to trap me and since you're a human I am going to eat you".
"That's not fair" cried the young man.
"I'm a tiger and that's what tigers do. Eat people" growled the tiger
"I helped you and now you're going to eat me just because I'm human" said the young man. "I think we should
ask some one else to judge if that's fair or not".
The tiger agreed and they went to look for someone to act as a judge.
They found an Ox and told him the story. "I think it's fair for the tiger to eat you" said the Ox. "Humans treat us Oxen very badly. We're made to work all day and when you want to, you kill us and eat us"
The tiger moved closer to the young man, who quickly yelled "Let's make it two out of three".
The tiger agreed and they went to ask the biggest tree in the forest. "I think it's fair for the tiger to eat you. You humans chop us down whenever you want to and set fire to the forest and burn us".
The tiger looked pleased and showed his big teeth as he smiled at the young man.
The young man was so frightened his legs began to shake. He saw a hare hopping along. "Please Mr. Hare, help judge if Mr. Tiger should eat me".
The hare listened to their story then said "Before I can judge I must see exactly what happened".
They all went to the deep hole where the young man had rescued the tiger.
"Now show me exactly where you were" the hare said to the tiger. Anxious to hurry up and eat the young man, the tiger jumped down into the hole.
"Was this branch in the hole?" asked the hare.
"No it wasn't" answered the tiger. The young man and the hare pulled the branch out.
"My judgment is that it's not fair for you to eat the young man" said the hare. "Just because it was humans who dug the hole doesn't make it fair for you to eat him. You should have been grateful for his help".
The hare hopped away and the young man hurried off to the village leaving the ungrateful tiger howling in the deep hole.
The Beetle and the Silken Thread « Result #2 on Feb 26, 2009, 3:34am »
The strange adventures related in the story of the Beetle and the Silken Thread took place in the town of Allahabad, "the City of God," so called because it is situated near the point of meeting of the two sacred rivers of India, the Ganges, which the Hindus lovingly call Mother Ganga because they believe its waters can wash away their sins, and the Jumna, which they consider scarcely less holy.
The ruler of Allahabad was a very selfish and hot-tempered Raja named Surya Pratap, signifying "Powerful as the Sun," who expected everybody to obey him without a moment's delay, and was ready to punish in a very cruel manner those who hesitated to do so. He would never listen to a word of explanation, or own that he had been mistaken, even when he knew full well that he was in the wrong. He had a mantri, that is to say, a chief vizier or officer, whom he greatly trusted, and really seemed to be fond of, for he liked to have him always near him. The vizier was called Dhairya-Sila, or "the Patient One," because he never lost his temper, no matter what provocation he received. He had a beautiful house, much money and many jewels, carriages to drive about in, noble horses to ride and many servants to wait upon him, all given to him by his master. But what he loved best of all was his faithful wife, Buddhi-Mati, or "the Sensible One," whom he had chosen for himself, and who would have died for him.
Many of the Raja's subjects were jealous of Dhairya-Sila, and constantly brought accusations against him, of none of which his master took any notice, except to punish those who tried to set him against his favourite. It really seemed as if nothing would ever bring harm to Dhairya-Sila; but he often told his wife that such good fortune was not likely to last, and that she must be prepared for a change before long.
It turned out that he was right. For one day Surya Pratap ordered him to do what he considered would be a shameful deed. He refused; telling his master that he was wrong to think of such a thing, and entreating him to give up his purpose. "All your life long," he said, "you will wish you had listened to me; for your conscience will never let you rest!"
On hearing these brave words, Surya Pratap flew into a terrible rage, summoned his guards, and ordered them to take Dhairya-Sila outside the city to a very lofty tower, and leave him at the top of it, without shelter from the sun and with nothing to eat or drink. The guards were at first afraid to touch the vizier, remembering how others had been punished for only speaking against him. Seeing their unwillingness, the Raja got more and more angry; but Dhairya-Sila himself kept quite calm, and said to the soldiers:
"I go with you gladly. It is for the master to command and for me to obey."
The guards were relieved to find they need not drag the vizier away; for they admired his courage and felt sure that the Raja would soon find he could not get on without him. It might go hardly with them if he suffered harm at their hands. So they only closed in about him; and holding himself very upright, Dhairya-Sila walked to the tower as if he were quite glad to go. In his heart however he knew full well that it would need all his skill to escape with his life.
When her husband did not come home at night, Buddhi-Mati was very much distressed. She guessed at once that something had gone wrong, and set forth to try and find out what had happened. This was easy enough; for as she crept along, with her veil closely held about her lest she should be recognised, she passed groups of people discussing the terrible fate that had befallen the favourite. She decided that she must wait until midnight, when the streets would be deserted and she could reach the tower unnoticed. It was almost dark when she got there, but in the dim light of the stars she made out the form of him she loved better than herself, leaning over the edge of the railing at the top.
"Is my dear lord still alive?" she whispered, "and is there anything I can do to help him?"
"You can do everything that is needed to help me," answered Dhairya-Sila quietly, "if you only obey every direction I give you. Do not for one moment suppose that I am in despair. I am more powerful even now than my master, who has but shown his weakness by attempting to harm me. Now listen to me. Come to-morrow night at this very hour, bringing with you the following things: first, a beetle; secondly, sixty yards of the finest silk thread, as thin as a spider's web; thirdly, sixty yards of cotton thread, as thin as you can get it, but very strong; fourthly, sixty yards of good stout twine; fifthly, sixty yards of rope, strong enough to carry my weight; and last, but certainly not least, one drop of the purest bees' honey."
Buddhi-Mati listened very attentively to these strange instructions, and began to ask questions about them. "Why do you want the beetle? Why do you want the honey?" and so on. But her husband checked her. "I have no strength to waste in explanations," he said. "Go home in peace, sleep well, and dream of me." So the anxious wife went meekly away; and early the next day she set to work to obey the orders she had received. She had some trouble in obtaining fine enough silk, so very, very thin it had to be, like a spider's web; but the cotton, twine and rope were easily bought; and to her surprise she was not asked what she wanted them for. It took her a good while to choose the beetle. For though she had a vague kind of idea that the silk, the cotton, twine, and rope, were to help her husband get down from the tower, she could not imagine what share the beetle and the honey were to take. In the end she chose a very handsome, strong-looking, brilliantly coloured fellow who lived in the garden of her home and whom she knew to be fond of honey.
All the time Buddhi-Mati was at work for her husband, she was thinking of him and looking forward to the happy day of his return home. She had such faith in him that she did not for a moment doubt that he would escape; but she was anxious about the future, feeling sure that the Raja would never forgive Dhairya-Sila for being wiser than himself. Exactly at the time fixed the faithful wife appeared at the foot of the tower, with all the things she had been told to bring with her.
"Is all well with my lord?" she whispered, as she gazed up through the darkness. "I have the silken thread as fine as gossamer, the cotton thread, the twine, the rope, the beetle and the honey."
"Yes," answered Dhairya-Sila, "all is still well with me. I have slept well, feeling confident that my dear one would bring all that is needed for my safety; but I dread the great heat of another day, and we must lose no time in getting away from this terrible tower. Now attend most carefully to all I bid you do; and remember not to speak loud, or the sentries posted within hearing will take alarm and drive you away. First of all, tie the end of the silken thread round the middle of the beetle, leaving all its legs quite free. Then rub the drop of honey on its nose, and put the little creature on the wall, with its nose turned upwards towards me. It will smell the honey, but will not guess that it carries it itself, and it will crawl upwards in the hope of getting to the hive from which that honey came. Keep the rest of the silk firmly held, and gradually unwind it as the beetle climbs up. Mind you do not let it slip, for my very life depends on that slight link with you."
Buddhi-Mati, though her hands shook and her heart beat fast as she realized all that depended on her, kept the silk from becoming entangled; and when it was nearly all unwound, she heard her husband's voice saying to her: "Now tie the cotton thread to the end of the silk that you hold, and let it gradually unwind." She obeyed, fully understanding now what all these preparations were for.
When the little messenger of life reached the top of the tower, Dhairya-Sila took it up in his hand and very gently unfastened the silken thread from its body. Then he placed the beetle carefully in a fold of his turban, and began to pull the silken thread up--very, very slowly, for if it had broken, his wonderful scheme would have come to an end. Presently he had the cotton thread in his fingers, and he broke off the silk, wound it up, and placed it too in his turban. It had done its duty well, and he would not throw it away.
"Half the work is done now," he whispered to his faithful wife. "You have all but saved me now. Take the twine and tie it to the end of the cotton thread."
Very happily Buddhi-Mati obeyed once more; and soon the cotton thread and twine were also laid aside, and the strong rope tied to the last was being quickly dragged up by the clever vizier, who knew that all fear of death from sunstroke or hunger was over. When he had all the rope on the tower, he fastened one end of it to the iron railing which ran round the platform on which he stood, and very quickly slid down to the bottom, where his wife was waiting for him, trembling with joy.
After embracing his wife and thanking her for saving him, the vizier said to her: "Before we return home, let us give thanks to the great God who helped me in my need by putting into my head the device by which I escaped." The happy pair then prostrated themselves on the ground, and in fervent words of gratitude expressed their sense of what the God they worshipped had done for them. "And now," said Dhairya-Sila, "the next thing we have to do is to take the dear little beetle which was the instrument of my rescue back to the place it came from." And taking off his turban, he showed his wife the tiny creature lying in the soft folds.
Buddhi-Mati led her husband to the garden where she had found the beetle, and Dhairya-Sila laid it tenderly on the ground, fetched some food for it, such as he knew it loved, and there left it to take up its old way of life. The rest of the day he spent quietly in his own home with his wife, keeping out of sight of his servants, lest they should report his return to his master. "You must never breathe a word to any one of how I escaped," Dhairya-Sila said, and his wife promised that she never would.
A Pocket Full of Quarters « Result #3 on Feb 16, 2009, 12:45am »
Searra, an eight-year-old brain tumor patient, was a "regular" in the Radiation Oncology Department, much like the other patients who came to the cancer center everyday for a five- or six-week period. With my office located near the main entrance, I could hear Searra, also called CC, coming from a distance. Sure enough, she popped her head in every morning around 10:00 A.M. to say "hi" or, more important, to check out the toys and coloring materials I had stashed in my office.wow power leveling Several steps behind, CC's grandmother, also called Mommie, since she served as her guardian, would trail in as she tried keeping up with CC's anxious pace. CC was not the least bit interested in hearing more about her cancer or her hair loss. When she walked into the department, it was time to socialize with the staff, who became her instant friends, and to see what kind of masterpiece she could color for Mommie before she was called back for her treatment. I was taken aback by the love CC had for Mommie. Whenever I asked her about home life, school work or how she was feeling, every response referred to her time spent with Mommie, the funny stories they shared and how much she loved her.wow gold On numerous occasions, CC made it clear that Mommie was the center of her world. When CC was first treated with radiation therapy,wow power leveling the therapists told her that they would give her a quarter each day if she promised to keep her head still on the treatment table. Certainly,wow gold after six weeks of therapy, she had a pocketful of quarters! So on the last day, the therapists wanted to know what big toy she was going to buy with all her change. CC replied, "Oh, I am not going to buy a toy. I am going to buy something for Mommie because of all the nice things she does for me." CC's sincerity, unselfishness, warmth and loyalty to Mommie taught me about what is really important in life. She constantly showed that loving others with true commitment is the best gift you can give another-whether a family member or a friend. Certainly, CC has an excuse to complain or be angry at the world for a childhood totally different from the other children's in her third-grade class. I have never heard her complain about her bald head,wow power leveling swollen face and body (as a result of the steroids), or low energy level, which keeps her from playing outside. CC continues to live her life the way she chooses, and that includes giving of herself to make the world a better place for others, especially Mommie. CC reminds me to not take those people I love for granted and to look beyond the superficiality that is often found in day-to-day living.wow gold I am reminded to be more thankful for what I have today and to not dwell on what is behind me or what lies ahead. CC, just like many other cancer patients, is a true example that we aren't always dealt the perfect hand, so we have to make the best of what we have today.
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Hello there literate roleplayers. Are you tired of bland Light vs. Dark plots, equine RPGs that all seem the same, and plots that don't affect your character?
Well we've got a surprise for you. At The Secret it's not just about good and evil. In fact, good and evil don't have a lot to do with things. No matter whose side you're on, you can be as nice or as cruel as you see fit. But if you live in the north you'd better be tough if you want to stay alive. Here's a summary of what kinds of characters you can make:
Southern equines: The Resistance. You like freedom and would rather be left to your own devices. Conquering is not really your thing, you just want to be left alone to start a herd. Weakland equines: The Captives. You keep your head down and hope you don't get beaten up too often. You dream of escaping to the south, but know you'll be killed for trying. Mostly mares live here, though there is a small number of stallions. They usually get beaten down the most so they can't rebel. Northern equines: Tartarus's Legions. You work for the mastermind, Tartarus, the one who blew the news about the object of power out into the open. You answer to his captain Atlas, and you spend your time fighting, bullying mares in the Weaklands, and training colts for the army. If you have any spare time you can gather a small herd. Haven of Hesperides: The Secret Keepers. You know not hate nor greed, and you live within the walls of the Haven. You may leave to explore, but other equines seem so different to you. You live in peace and philosophy, seeking knowledge and enlightenment. But you know what is brewing, and the battle will come to your doorstep even though they cannot break down the door.
We are also accepting staff applications for Global Moderators, Graphics Designers and Skin Designer.
What's going on... ?
There was peace once, though by now it is but a distant memory in the minds of those old enough to remember. There was order and cohesion, and nothing to fear. The Keepers of Hesperides stayed within their walled Haven, and none disrupted their peace. There was always a rumor that an object of unspeakable power lay hidden within those great walls, but in time the rumor grew dull with age. But now a young stallion, maddened with greed, is gathering all the information he can about this mysterious object of celestial power. Flanked by the powerful drafts of the northern lands, he is murdering and taking prisoners left and right. There is only a handful of southern herds that stand against him, led by the mysterious Theseus. If they are vanquished, the Keepers will be on their own. Chaos and uncertainty abound. How much longer can the forces of reason hold off this madman?
The board is set, the pieces are in play. Whose side will you join?
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