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There was a
little boy
called Tony who
was never able
to face his
problems
straight ahead.
His mother would
ask him every
time he had some
kind of
difficulty at
home:
— So, what are
you planning to
do now, my son?
— Don’t worry
mom. It’s not a
big deal. I will
deal with it.
His mom would
say every time
he had low
grades at
school; quite
worringly:
— Tony, you have
to study more my
son. It is time
for exams and
you haven’t been
studying.
He would then
reply:
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— That’s ok,
mom. I will
study. The exams
will be easy;
don’t you worry.
Therefore, the
results came and
his grades were
even
worse.
— My son, if you
don’t work
harder, you will
fail at school!
— Don’t worry,
mom. I will keep
it up! You will
see!
Tony would
always react in
the same way. He
always ran
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away
from the
problem,
as if he
didn’t
want to
see the
reality.
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His mother was
quite tired of
hearing the same
excuses all the
time. One day
she said to him:
— Tony, your dad
will need to
work next
Sunday. He won’t
come for lunch.
Would you like
to come to the
zoo with me?
— Of course,
mom! I love
animals! Yes,
let’s do it!
On Sunday
morning his mom
prepared a
delicious packed
lunch for them
to take to the
zoo. They
decided to have
a pic-nic in a
park near by.
Tony was so
excited. He
loved seeing
everything
around the zoo.
He was so
impressed with
the lion, the
giraffe and
monkeys. They
walked around
and got near to
a field
protected by a
fence. They then
saw a very
bizarre
creature. It
looked like a
bird, but was
quite large;
much bigger than
the average
bird. It was
greyish-brown
and white. The
head and neck of
the animal was
nearly bare,
with a thin
layer of down.
— What is this,
mom? — Tony
asked, feeling
quite impressed.
His mom smiled
and asked:
— It is a bird,
my son. It’s
called an
Ostrich. It is a
a large
flightless bird
native to
Africa. It is
distinctive in
its appearance
and has the
ability to run
at maximum
speeds of about
70 km/hour! It
weights around
150 kilos!
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— Wow! Why is
the other
Ostrich laying
its head and
neck flat on the
ground?
— Well, this is
an interesting
story. Some
people say
Ostrich do that
because they
want to story
food, hiding it
from other
animals; others
say that it is
due to laying
eggs, if it’s
forming a nest;
others will say
the bird will do that when it feels
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frightened
or when
it wants
to hide
from an
enemy,
that is,
so it
doesn’t
see when
danger
approaches
it.
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— Really? What
is the truth
about this?
— I don’t know
the right answer
for sure, Tony.
What I know is
that people say
if we don’t want
to face a
problem, we are
behaving just
like an Ostrich:
laying our head
and neck flat on
the ground
pretending
everything is
ok.
Tony thought for
a while on his
mom’s words...
He remained
silent then....
The sky got
darker. It
seemed like it
was about to
rain. Both mom
and son decided
to go back home
sooner from the
zoo.
When they got
back home,
Tony’s mom set
up the table for
lunch. She
prepared it
previously with
so much care and
love! They ate
it with
pleasure.
In the meantime,
the boy kept
thinking about
his mom’s
statement. She
then asked her
son:
— Are you ok, my
son?
The little boy
looked at her
and said:
— Mom, are we
similar to
Ostriches?
— What do you
think, son?
Tony gave a deep
breath and said:
— I think I have
been behaving
like an Ostrich.
— Why do you say
that, Tony?
— I haven’t been
performing well
at school. I try
to trick myself,
pretending
everything is
ok. I have been
quite lazy
lately. I have
also tried to
mislead you,
mom.
— Oh, right!
What do you
intend to do
then?
— I know I need
to deal with the
situation and
study more. This
reminds me on
the other day,
when we read the
Gospel. There
was a lesson in
which Jesus said
if we help
ourselves,
Heaven will help
us. That is, our
spiritual
friends will
help us.
— Well done, my
son! You are now
making the right
choice.
His mom felt
quite touched by
his comment. She
hugged him
firmly and said:
— You know you
can count on me
and your dad,
right?
— I know mom. I
thank Jesus for
having you two
as my parents.
From that day
onwards, Tony
made an effort
to improve at
school. He would
study and do his
homework
everyday. He was
so happy to hand
over to his mom
the next set of
results from
school! His
grades were so
much better!
His mom felt so
happy! She
thanked god for
being able to
help her son
awaken for the
reality of
life.
Aunt Celia
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