Theme: Goodwill
The stone in the path
Once upon a time there was a very wise king. From time
to time he had attitudes that seemed strange. It is
because the king spared no effort to teach good habits
to his people.
- Nothing good can come from a nation - he said - whose
people complain and expect others to solve their
problems. God helps those who help themselves.
One day, before dawn, while everyone was still sleeping,
the king placed a huge stone in the road that passed
through the palace. Then he hid to watch people's
reactions.
In the early hours of the day, a farmer appeared on the
way with a cart loaded with grain that he was taking to
the mill.
– Who ever saw such carelessness? – he said annoyed, as
he walked around the stone. – Why don't these lazy
people have this stone removed from the road?
As he dodged, he just complained, with no intention of
touching the stone himself.
Before long, a soldier came walking down the road. His
body was young and strong. He walked with his head held
high and his posture erect, as his courageous and
confident temperament.
However, the soldier, not seeing the stone, stumbled and
fell. He rose up, brushing the dust off his clothes, and
was enraged at the careless people who had left that
stone in the road, causing such danger. But he also
walked away, not thinking that he could remove the stone
himself.
And so the day passed. Everyone who passed by, swerved,
complained and grumbled about the stone placed in the
road, but no one solved the problem.
Finally, at dusk, a farmer's daughter passed by. She was
tired. From an early age she had dedicated herself to
many tasks. The stone was heavy and would take effort to
remove, but the young woman, used to the work and the
benefits it provides, told herself: “It is almost dark,
someone could trip over this stone and seriously get
injured. I'll get it out of the way.”
The girl then pushed, pulled, struggled until she was
able to move the stone and drag it off the road.
What happened next she didn't expect. In fact, no one
who had passed through it all day could have imagined
it.
When removing the stone, the girl found a box that had
been under it all the time, in which it was written:
“This box belongs to whoever removes the stone”.
When picking up the box, the farmer's daughter realized
that it was heavy and, when she opened it, found that it
was full of gold. The girl could hardly believe it. She
closed the box again and went home happy.
The next day everyone found out what had happened. The
farmer, the soldier, and everyone who had passed along
the road lamented that they didn´t have removed the
stone and found the treasure.
The wise king, with the desire to teach, spoke to his
people about the event and explained:
– Often we find obstacles in our paths. We can complain,
rebel, stand before them, or go astray. Or, we can
strive to solve the problem and get our way clear. The
choice is ours! One who has positive attitudes is always
rewarded in some way, even if it is not with gold or
material goods.
Saying this, the king mounted his horse and returned to
the palace satisfied. His people had received an
important lesson.
(Adaptation of text by unknown author.)
Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com
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