Cub Scouts' Own

Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made and His praise glorified.

From Baha'i Writings

The True Servants of the Gracious God are the following:

• Those who walk on this earth with humility
• When they are tempted by the evil ones, they respond "Peace!"
• Those who pass the hours of the night in prayers and standing before the lord
• Those who pray: "Lord, turn away us from the punishments of hell, for it is heavy torment, it is indeed an evil dwellin place"
• Those who are neither extravagant nor stingy in spending, but keep a balance between the two
• Those who repent and believe and do good deeds.

From the Koran, Al-Furquan, Part 19, chapter 25.

This may be the end of our Scouts Own BUT this is the beginning of a brand new day. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place what I have traded for it. I want it to be gain - not loss, good - not evil, success - not failure, so that I shall never regret the price I paid for today.

from Cub Scout Expo 2001

• Blessed are those who prefer others before themselves - Baha'i Faith
• Hurt not others in ways that you would you yourself would find hurtful - Buddhism
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - Christianity
• This is the sum of all duty: treat others as you yourself would be treated - Hinduism
• No one of you is a believer until you desire for another that which you desire for yourself - Islam
• In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, regard all creatures as you would regard yourself - Jainism
• What is hateful to you, do not do unto your neighbour - Judaism
• Be not estranged from another, for God dwells in every heart - Sikhism
• Human nature is good only when it does not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self - Zoroastrianism

God can only help those who help themselves.

(this is actually a joke)...

There was once a woman, Jenny, who was down on her money, she had none left and if she didn't find some money by the weekend, she would not be able to pay her bills. She prayed to God: "Please God, let me win the Lotto".
She checked the Lotto results and nothing happened. She prayed again "Please God, let me win the Lotto so I can pay my bills".
Next day she checked the Lotto results, but still she hadn't won.
She prayed again, "Please God, let me win the Lotto, I have many bills to pay and not enough money". She said amen and suddenly a loud booming voice responded "Jenny, work with me on this, buy a lotto ticket".

The carpenter, who was getting close to retirning, thought to himself - I will build this house for him, from the outside it will look good, but I will cut some corners and be able to keep some money for myself. So he used second grade timber, cut re-inforcing out of the slab, and used every trick in the book. Soon the house was finished - from the outside it looked first class but the carpenter knew what was hidden behind those walls.

The next day the carpenter went to the airport to pick up his employer. "Did you finish the house?"

"Yes I did" said the carpenter.

"Take me to it - I must see it". When they arrived, the man looked at the big house in its landscaped gardens with paths and big swimming pool. "Beautiful!" he said. Only the carpenter knew what was hidden behind those walls. The employer then turned to the carpenter and said "For twenty years you have worked for me with no complaints, you have been faithful and loyal. I have a wonderful surprise for you."

Handing the keys to the carpenter, he said "The house is yours".

In the far American west, in a small Indian village, there lived a peaceful tribe. The tribe had been led for many years by a great and mighty warrier chief. The village had always had enough food to eat, and everyone worked together to make life enjoyable. The men hunted, the women baked and sewed clothing, and the children played together dreaming of the day they too would be old enough to contribute to the tribe.

One spring, the Chief gathered his people together in Council, and told them that he was growing old. His eyesight was weakening - he could no longer see like the hawk, nor run like the deer, nor lead his people in the manner in which he felt they should and must be led. It was time for a new chief to step forward and take his rightful place.

And so the old man asked if there were any who considered himself worthy of this honour. Such men were asked to stand before the Chief and the people.

Three young men ventured forth. All were mighty hunters and were well respected amongst the tribe. All were strong, and all were eager to lead the tribe in the years to come.

And the great Chief praised the men for their courage, and then assigned them a task. "You are to travel to the mighty mountain to the north, and bring back the most precious thing which you can find. You will return it to this Council, and we will wait for each of you to return. When you come back, I shall decide which of you is worthy of becoming the Chief of my people."

And so the 3 men left the Council, while the people settled in for a long wait. They too were anxious to learn who their new leader might be.

The first brave returned immediately to his teepee, gathered his bow and arrows, and strode confidently away from the village toward the mountain. The second brave took more time - he gathered some food, took an extra bow, and several extra arrows, and set off just before nightfall. The third brave returned to his teepee, and spent most of the night alone, gathering belongings, checking his bow for strength and his arrows for accuracy. In the early dawn, he too left the village for the mountain.

The village people waited. Late the next day the first brave walked proudly into the village, carrying a perfect single white rose in his hand. He walked up to the old Chief and said "Chief, this was the most precious thing which I found on the mountain." The old Chief nodded, laid the flower beside him, and settled back to wait for the other two men.

The second brave arrived just before dawn on the third day. Although tired and hungry, he too walked proudly up to the Chief and held out a beautiful red stone. He gave it to the Chief, stating that this was the most precious thing because not only was it beautiful, but it was also useful, as it could be fashioned into the head of an arrow, and could be used for hunting. The old Chief nodded and laid the stone beside the flower. He then settled back to wait for the third brave.

It was not until for fourth moon had passed that the third brave returned to the village. He walked slowly, with his head down, as he entered the Council. In his hands he held nothing.

In silence he stood before the Chief. "Great Chief, I have returned empty-handed. For four days and nights I have sat atop the mountain, searching for that which is truly the most precious thing. And I saw many things which I thought were beautiful, but they were beautiful only on the mountain - if I were to bring them back to you, they would lose their beauty. And I sat awake all last night, hoping that a thought would come to me - a thought of what I might bring home in order that I might have the honour of being Chief of the tribe. And as I sat, I watched a huge, perfect, red ball of fire rise above the horizon. It shone with colours more beautiful than I have ever seen - the yellows and the golds and the shades of red told me that a new day had begun. The rising of he sun was the most beautiful and precious thing which I saw on the mountain, but I could not bring it back with me. I have only a memory of that sunrise. That is what I have brought back to you."

The old Chief nodded and left the Council. At the end of the fifth day, when he came forth, and stood before his people. He called the three braves to stand in front of him, and he spoke.

To the first brave he said: "Your flower was indeed beautiful when you first brought it to me, but look it has withered and died, and is no longer beautiful or precious".

To the second brave he said: "Your stone is beautiful and is useful. But what happens when we fashion the arrowhead from the stone, and we shoot a deer but only wound it. The stone is gone forever, and is no longer precious."

To the third brave he said: "You have brought back the most precious thing which a man can find. You have brought back the memory of something that has touched you deeply and you shall carry that precious memory with you until death. Memories are all that we have in the end, and yours will be good memories as you lead your people as their Chief."

And so the third brave became Chief, and the village was proud of their new leader.

Hold onto memories, for they are both beautiful and precious.

Mr Untidy lived, naturally enough, in the untidiest house in town. It was surrounded by the untidiest garden.

Because he was untidy, he could never find what he was looking for. He didn't mow his lawn because he couldn't find his lawnmower. He didn't cut the hedge because he'd lost the clippers. Inside his house was just as messy. There were clothes lying all over Mr Untidy's bedroom floor. There were dishes lying in the sink. His coffee table was covered in books for Mr Untidy spent a great deal of time reading. The mess didn't bother him at all. He would clear away a place to eat or a place to read and carry on regardless. Life for Mr Untidy was so much easier that way - or so he thought.

One day the postman threw a letter under Mr Untidy's door. Because the house was so messy, Mr Untidy did not notice it for a few days - even then it was only because he stubbed his toe on the broom stick under the doormat. It was then he spied the letter and he received a nasty shock when he read it: his mother was arriving for a visit - arriving that very day!

Now Mr Untidy's mother was not at all like her sin. She was exactly the opposite. He scurried and hurried and got himself in such a state he was soon worn out. He swept the floors because he found the broom. Then he decided to wash the dishes but he couldn't find the plug. He broke 6 glasses in his fluster to get tidied up. He gathered his clothes and threw them into his washing machine but it broke down because because he'd overloaded it and suds swirled all over the floor. Oh dear, such a mess.

He paid a boy to mow his lawn and a repairman to fix the washing machine. He bought some new clothes because the others were ruined. He bought 6 new glasses and a plug for the sink. In fact he spent all his money in one day and there was none left for food.

"Oh dear", thought Me Untidy, "what shall I do? Maybe I could sell something - but what?". Then he saw his precious books - he would have to sell those.

By the time Mr Untidy's mother arrived, everything was tidy and Mr Untidy was exhausted.

"How tidy everything is" said his mother happily. And everything was. Mr Untidy had to admit that it was very nice to be able to find things again, to see his carpet, to look outside his bedroom window and see his garden.

Being untidy wasn't easy at all. He'd lost his books and his money. He decided he would try to be tidy from now on. He'd made his mother happy and that was quite an achievement thought Mr Untidy as he carefully put away the dishes.

Drawn from a very old CubFile in Scout Australia

The warrier turned his guide and raised his eyebrows. "It's this way" the guide explained, "everybody who comes here is given a pair of chopsticks 2 metres long and is required to hold them at the end to eat. But you just can't eat with the chopsticks 2m long if they hold them at the end. Look at them, they miss their miss their mouths everytime, see?" The visitor agreed that this was hell indeed, and asked to be taken back to Heaven post-haste.

In Heaven, to his surprise, he saw a familiar room with a similar laden table, with their choice foods. But the people were happy - they looked radiantly happy.

the visitor turned to the guide. "No chopsticks, I suppose?" he asked.

"Oh yes!" said the guide, "they have the same chopsticks, the same length, and they must be held at the end just as in hell. But you see, these people have learnt that if a man feeds his neighbour, his neighbour will feed him also!"

Contributed by Desley Auld, DCL Griffith District

by Old Owl

Then he began to study the talk of his tribe more closely and discovered that many words were formed of fewer sounds and syllables. After a long time, by counting in his head, he discovered there were only 85 sounds in their language. Now his task was to invent 85 signs for these syllables. He managed to get an english spelling book, and from this he made up most of the signs he needed. Then he brought his writing before the tribe and asked them to learn the sign for each sound. Within months, almost the all the Cherokee Indians could read and write their own languange through Sequoya's signs. Soon books were printed and foriegn books translated into the sign language. Sequoya travelled about finding scattered groups of tribes, teaching them to read and write the new language. For this work, which afterwards was copied by other tribes, the American Government gave Sequoya a gift of $200, and later a pension of $120 per year, which in those days (of 1828) was a comfortable living for an indian whose habits were those of his tribes.

Sequoya was 50 years of age when he began to invent his system of writing; and 62 when it was brought into full use. As an old man he became possessed by the idea that a large part of his tribe had wandered away to the far west. At last he set forth on his search, but of course he did not succeeed for his lost tribesmen did not exist. He wore himself out with travel, and eventually died in 1843 in Mexico.

He was an example of an ordinary man, with no learning, who made a written language, just as other men who in the far distant past invented other systems of writing including our own. Sequoya's name is not only remembered in the wonderful language he recorded in written signs, but his name has been given to one of the giant trees in California. This tree, named the Sequoya, after the Cherokee Indian, has grown to be 100m high and approximately 25m round at the foot, with bark half metre thick, for a distance of 30m up the trunk. The age of these huge American trees has been counted as between 2000-3000 years.

Contributed by Merrill Ovenden, DCL Redland District

• Can Opener: Help us to open our eyes to see...
• Cooking Ingredients: all the small things put together in ourselves and others
• Plant: grow closer to God every day
• Duster: wanting to wipe away the wrong things we have done.
• Plastic Monster: Not to act like a Monster

You may also grab various articles/pictures/advertisements from a newspaper or magazine and do likewise, for example:

Please bless the newly married people, keep all families safe and bless Mum, Dad and my family. Thank you for the fitness and health and the fun of playing games together...

Contributed by Ian Collie, DCL Waterloo Bay

When you pray, or hear a prayer, and say "Amen" at the end you are agreeing with the prayer and accepting that what has been requested to happen.

The man was very sorry for for having done a wrong thing, but also sad because his family lived in another village, and he would never see them again, even to say goodbye.

However, the man's brother went to see the Emperor to try to persuade him to let his brother go to say goodbye to his parents, and in fact he would take his place, toprove that his brother's promise to come back would happen. The Emperor laughed - they all laughed and said that he was a fool to take his brother's place - that he would die instead.

Now it would take 5 days each way to go and see his parents as he had to walk, but he promised his brother that he would be back. As the days counted down for the brother's return, 8 days, then 6, then 4, then 2, until on the last day when the brother had not returned. The guards had said that brother would not return - it lookes as if they might be right, although his brother knew a promise was a promise. There were 5 minutes to go, so they took the man out into the yard and prepared him for execution.

There was silence in the crowd as they waited for the head to roll off and down the shute, when there was a noise at the back of the crowd as someone shouted "Wait - I am here to release my brother, as I made a promise to come back".

The story goes that the Emporer was so impressed with the responsibility of the brothers' to their promise, that he set the guilty brother free.

Contributed by Ian Collie, DCL Waterloo Bay

Then think of the all the arrangements for the trees, and other plants, that spread their seeds so they will not grow up with their roots mixed with those of the parent tree.

Consider the Flandersia tree - when the pod opens, the seeds fall out and fly like a helicopter, sometimes travelling a long way.

Consider the Wattle tree - the pods are all twisted as they dry, and when they burst they unwind (like bound elastic bands) and fling seeds many yards.

Take the Blackbean tree - they grow near creeks and their seeds only grow where there is lots of humus. The pods fall just before the wet season and are washed down the creek to lodge in debris piles. As this rots, so does the seed pod - and the seed can grow!

What about the Banksia tree - their seed pods only open after a bush fire or a very long period of time.

Take the seeds of the Wattle and similar trees. They have a waxy coating which will not let in moisture to germinate the seed until the wax is melted by fire, or rubbed off by sand when washed along a gully.

This is just a few specialities of nature, there are many other seeds such as burr seeds and thistles that stick to passers by to spread, and so on.

Only God could arrange this so.

Contributed by Ian Collie, DCL Waterloo Bay

Presently a second traveller came along and asked the same question. "Where do you come from?" asked Aesop. "Oh" said the second man, "I come from Argos. Everybody is friendly there. I used to find them kindly, truthful, helpful, and honourable where ever I went." Aesop smiled at the second traveller, "Friend, I am glad to tell you that you will find the people of Athens much the same."

Any Cub Pack, school, church or town are a reflection of kind of people that belong to it - we find the sort of characters that match our own.

Contributed by Clare Weddell, DCL Murrumba

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw.

With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!