Sheldon Oberman (1949–2004)

This is a story based on the biblical tale of the meeting of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, as well as Jewish European folklore and African legend. The Queen of Sheba came to King Solomon to learn something important. She witnessed him answer many questions, but wanted to see what he could do with his knowledge. So she challenged him to make a palace of bird beaks. King Solomon called all the birds, so he could chop their beaks off to build the palace. The hoopoe bird was late, and King Solomon got very angry. The bird had stopped to get him a gift--three gifts in fact: three things he did not know. The hoopoe asked the king his three questions. And while Solomon was able to answer, the questions made him realize the destructiveness and folly of what he was about to do.… (mere)

A story of a young boy who lost his garden but was left with a stone. The king of the town needed stones for his wall. Johnny hauled the stone to the wall only to get rejected. He tells his story to a man in the garden who was inspired by his hardwork, he bought the stone, revealed he was the king, and then offered him a job.

I didn't really like this story, I felt it did have a good moral at the end of it though. When you put hard work into something, it becomes a part of your character and can inspire others. Hardwork is a trait that I've grown up on so this story has a relatable factor.

1.Build a garden with the class.
2.Collect rocks to either just build a wall or a wall to encompass the garden.… (mere)

Summary: A story about a boy who grew a garden, but the heavy winds and rain washed it away, the only thing left was a big white rock. A castle on the hill nearby was building a wall and was paying one silver dollar for every rock brought to the castle. Tommy worked very hard all day to get the rock up the hill, only to find out they wanted dirty colored rocks, not a big white rock. In the end the King of the castle bought his rock, plus gave him a job working in his garden.

Personal Reflection: I tell my boy scouts all the time, never give on your first attempt. The results might not be what you wanted, but the out come will be rewarding. The idea is not to give up.

Classroom Extension:
1. Have every one bring a small vegetable plant and build a garden at school, and then bring rocks or collect rocks to build a wall around it, just like in the story.

2. Write a reflection on something that they worked really hard on, but didn't turn out so well, and what they did to make it better next time.… (mere)