1001 Stories of Greatness, Series 3: Greatness from Within

By Isioma Jemimah Okonicha

  Once upon a time, in a small town called Cox, there lived a kind and generous woman named Lily. Lily was known in the town for her compassionate nature and willingness to help anyone in need. One day, Lily noticed a young girl who was crying on the sidewalk. She approached the girl, whose name was Dorathy and asked if she needed any help. The girl explained that she had lost her way home and was feeling scared and alone. Lily immediately took the girl under her wing, comforting her and helping her find her way home. The girl was so grateful for Lily’s kindness that she told her parents about the woman who had helped her. The following week, Lily received a thank you note from the girl’s parents, expressing their gratitude for her kindness. The note also mentioned that they had been struggling financially and were finding it difficult to put food on the table for their family. Moved by the family’s situation, Lily decided to help them out. She started cooking extra food every day and would bring it to their doorstep. The family was amazed by her generosity and kindness. But Lily’s kindness didn’t stop there. She began to notice other families in the town who were struggling, and she started to offer her help to them too. She would hire babysitters for families who couldn’t afford a babysitter, and she would even give them money when they needed it. The kindness and generosity of Lily started to spread throughout the town, and soon others started to follow in her footsteps. People began to see the impact that one act of kindness could have, and they started to look for ways to help others too. As more and more people in the town started to practice kindness, it created a ripple effect. The town became a much more caring and compassionate place, and people started to feel a sense of community that they had never felt before. Years later, Lily grew old and left Cox to another town. And one day, as she was walking on the sidewalk, she accidentally stepped on

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookRix
• Release date: Nov 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9783755461197

Book preview

01

Scorpion Scare

Ibru was the boy who sold milk and gingerbread by the roadside, and his father, Papa Ibru, as he was fondly called by everyone, repaired torn shoes in a small shop beside him. Ibru’s mother had left them when he was only three years old. People who knew the former couple said the marriage was a catastrophic one.

For Ibru, he had to grow up without knowing his mother or what she looked like. Each time he asked his father about her, he was told she was beautiful but left because he was a poor man.

So Ibru’s father had to raise him on his own, with Ibru helping his father in his shoe repair shop until Ibru learned to make gingerbread and milk, which he decided to sell close to his dad.

One day, Ibru’s father closed up shop early but told Ibru to wait behind and pack up when it was time for him to leave, reminding him not to forget to lock up properly.

Just as Ibru packed up his father’s items for the day, a man walked into the shop.

My father is not around to repair your shoe. You can come back tomorrow, Ibru told the supposed customer. The man did not say a word; he only stared straight at Ibru and then began walking closer to him. At this point, Ibru began to wonder about the man’s strange behavior, but being a fifteen-year-old boy, he could not fight the huge-looking man. Ibru became scared and asked the man what he wanted.