Compiled from a variety of West African and South African folk tales. Once upon a time two cousins lived side by side in a village. They worked together in the fields each day and returned home each night to share a meal and some fun in the evening. The young woman cousin's name was Nosa....

Adapted from a Jataka tale (Buddhist). Once upon a time on the outskirts of a big city in Japan there stood an old temple. From a young age boys who wanted to study Buddhism would come to live in the temple and to learn from the master teacher, a Buddhist monk....

It was a hot, muggy morning. Christopher was not sure he really wanted to be out riding in a competition. His thoroughbred horse, Eastern Express, seemed a bit off, as if maybe he would rather be grazing in the field than doing the demanding work of running and jumping with a big, muscular man on...

Based on a Santerian story. Special thanks to Lesley Murdoch for her insights to Afro-Caribbean religions. The Orisha are gods that came originally from Nigeria, in West Africa, as part of the Yoruba religion....

Adapted from The Empty Pot by Demi (New York: Henry Holt, 1990); permission pending. Long, long ago, the Emperor of an ancient land was old and dying. He loved children but had none of his own. So the Emperor decided to choose one of the children of his land to be the next Emperor....

Adapted from "Many Paths to God" in Hide and Seek with God (Skinner House Books, 1994). Used with permission. Narrator: Once upon a time, four travelers from different lands met near a mountain. The travelers had been told that if they climbed the mountain, they would find God at the top....

A Muslim folk tale from Ayat Jamilah: Beautiful Signs, A Treasury of Islamic Wisdom for Children and Parents collected and adapted by Sarah Conover and Freda Crane (Spokane: Eastern Washington University Press, 2004); originally from Mythology and Folklore. Begin by saying, "Today we will hear a...

Our hearts should be too warm and too large for hatred. More than one hundred fifty years ago, back when trains were new and airplanes and cars hadn't been invented, back when women always wore long skirts and everyone wore hats, a girl named Fannie Barrier lived in a town in New York State....

Adapted from "A Week at SOS Children's Village, Tlokweng, Botswana," by Annie Arnzen, on the "A Precious Cause" website. Used with permission. Annie first went to Botswana in 2006, when she was in eighth grade. She and her family attend the North Parish, Unitarian Universalist, in North Andover,...

By Ellen Gold. Based on information in the book, Maglipay Universalist, by Fred Muir (Annapolis, Maryland: Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, 2001) and a 2002 review of Muir's book by Rosemary Bray McNatt in UU World magazine. I bet some of you love to read. Maybe you have a favorite book.

Adapted from multiple sources including a 2005 article, "Mrs. Mott, 'The Celebrated Female Physician,'" in Historic New England online magazine. Harriot Kezia Hunt, 1805-1875, was barred from medical study at Harvard College because male students objected to her presence....

Reprinted from A Lamp in Every Corner: Our Unitarian Universalist Storybook (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004). When Olympia Brown was little, girls weren't supposed to whistle. Girls weren't supposed to climb trees or run fast or catch frogs. But Olympia did; she did all those...

A Jataka Tale from India. Martin, Rafe. The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales (Somerville, MA: Yellow Moon Press, 1999). Reprinted with the permission of the author. www.rafemartin.comOnce, long ago, the Buddha was born as a little parrot. One day, a storm broke upon her...

Stories adapted from the Giraffe Heroes Project website John Holland McCowan John Holland-McCowan was five years old when he first announced that he wanted to help kids who were in need. He saved up his allowance and bought some toys for kids who were living in a shelter. When he dropped off the...

A Jewish tale from Afghanistan. Once, on a summer night in the country Afghanistan, the ruler Shah Abbis changed out of his fancy robes and left his palace dressed as a peasant to enjoy the evening air and to wander through the streets unnoticed. He walked and walked until he reached the poorest...