In this Zen tale, Gilbert Beaver thinks that winning the race and receiving his prize is good. He believes that falling out of a tree and into the river is bad. The ever-present Shelly suggests that you can never be certain about these things. We are often disappointed by ‘good’ things, and we can also enjoy ‘bad' things. Living in the present means full enjoyment of all of life.

In this Zen tale, the lazy cat ‘Furball' believes she knows everything. When the dam bursts and she is drenched, Furball realises that being a ‘know it all', can sometimes end in disaster. Based on the famous story of the university professor and the Zen master, children will discover that being a ‘know it all', simply means you are ‘all washed up'.

In this Tale, everyone has an ice cream except Bruno, and he cannot get ice cream off his mind, so much so that he becomes irritable, distracted, and unfocused. Eventually Bruno learns a valid lesson; he was happy when he forgot about the ice cream and focused his attention on what he was doing.  

Grizzel bear is not in a good mood. He stomps on flowers, he grumbles, and he complains. He is full of anger. He bumps into Guru Walter who is sitting peacefully and enjoying a glorious day in the sun and the gentle breeze and Grizzel's anger is not going to spoil his day. This story shows that anger does not have to be accepted. If we learn to reject it what remains is peace and happiness.