True Friends Part II

Tales and stories about friends are told time and again to kids, in order to let them understand the true meaning of friendship. Such stories help them know how precious true friends are. Some of the stories are timeless and have been told through generations. Others are based on personal experiences and the rest are just somebody's creative imagination! However, one thing is common in all of them and that is important morals in life. Every story based on friendship tells the fact that true friends are gifts of God. One should not let small disputes and misunderstandings strain friendships.

It may be easy to be friends with everyone, but it is hard to find friends who are really true to friendship and would stand by, during the hardships of life. Not everyone is blessed with true friends and if you have even one, consider yourself lucky

The stories based on friendship.

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day one fellow met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?". "Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test.". "Triple filter?". "That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?" "No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and...". "All right," said Socrates. "So you don't know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?" . "No, on the contrary...". "So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?" "No, not really." "Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

Lesson:

" Well we can always participate in loose talks to curb our boredom. But when it comes to you friends its not worth it. Always avoid talking behind the back about your near and dear friends. "