The Unexpected Encounter

A long long time ago, there was a boy who was very poor. He dressed in rags and lived with his parents in a humble hut. Often they did not have enough food because his father was a lumberjack and earned little money with his work. The boy liked music because he had a sensitive and affectionate temperament and dreamed of owning a fife, a kind of flute widely used at the time. But, being very poor, he knew that his father could never buy him a fife. Despite this, Andrew did not despair. He continued to assist his father in his duties with dedication and optimism. He dreamed also of meeting the Messiah, who they

said would come to overthrow the Romans and build the Kingdom of God on earth.

Andrew even heard that He had been seen and, with a heart full of emotion, the boy dreamed of the day he would meet with Him, the saviour of the Jews.

One day, Andrew went into the forest in search of firewood. The sun was at its zenith and he felt hungry and exhausted from so much walking.

He sat on a log in the shade of a tree and opened his rucksack to see what his mother had sent for him to eat.

Right then, he heard the approaching sound of light footsteps on dry leaves. At first he saw only the dirty feet on the simple leather sandals which were covered by the dust of the roads. This person had probably walked far.

Andrew looked up and saw a man dressed in a rough cotton tunic. His hair was parted in the middle and laid on his shoulders, like the Nazarenes,. With a calm countenance that radiated peace, two blue eyes stared at him.

The boy felt a different emotion when he saw those sad and lucid eyes.

The stranger reached out with his long slender fingers and touched the boy's head.

Moved without knowing why, Andrew invited him to sit down.

- Master, you must be tired. Judging by the state of your sandals, I presume you must have travelled long distances.

The man nodded with a slight smile and sat down.

Andrew realized that the stranger's gaze landed on his rucksack and said:

- You must be hungry. I got here something my mother prepared for me to eat. Let's share.

He opened the sack and reaching his hand in it found only a piece of crusty bread.

His eyes filled with tears. "Poor mother – he thought – she had nothing to offer me except a piece of stale bread."

He hesitated. If he gave the bread to the stranger, he would have nothing. And he was starving! But that thought lasted only one second. With his mind made up, he took the piece of bread from his rucksack and offered it to the stranger.

- Take it. You can eat it. I'm not hungry. I had a meal before leaving home and I plan to return soon. The man took the piece of bread and ate it slowly. When he finished, he said to the boy: - You have a good heart, Andrew. - How do you know my name? - he asked, surprised. - It does not matter. You satiated my hunger and will not regret it. My Father who is in heaven will know how to reward you. He stood up and said kindly: - And do not forget, my son. Always do unto others as you would want others to do unto

you, and you will be happy.

The boy watched as the stranger walked away and yelled:

- I do not know your name, sir!

But the stranger had already disappeared at a bend in the road.

As Andrew hastened to return home, he realized he no longer felt hunger; he was satiated. He wanted to tell his parents about the meeting he had had and that had impressed him so much.

When he arrived, he saw his father smiling and coming to meet him:

- God is great, my son! Our problems are over. I got a job that will pay us good money!

	And removing an object from the folds of his robe, he added: - I brought you a present that I found by the roadside. Look! It was a beautiful Fife!
The boy, radiant, effusively thanked his father and playing the first notes on the instrument remembered the stranger who he met that morning and, without knowing why, felt he owed all those blessings to Him.

                              AUNT CELIA