Theme: Help others around you.
A long story 9
Help the needy -A Tale of Iran
There are natural people.
That is those who are not very much different from animals. Because both natural people and animals in the wild do not own anything. They cannot work today and eat for several days.
The country of origin of this story is, the present day Iran and the chief character is a wood cutter, a widower.
Whatever he earns will be just sufficient for a day’s simple meal for him and his daughter..
One day, his daughter, expressed her desire to have food that only riches can afford. Her father explained that it calls for extra money. Extra money means extra hours of work. So, to fulfill his daughter’s desire, he started working from early morning to very late into the night.
The first day, when he returned from the , it was too late . His daughter latched the door from inside and slept.
He tried to wake-up her up but in vain. This continued for 2 / 3 days.
For the next three days he ended-up sleeping just outside his house and left for the forest early next morning before his daughter wokeup.
On the fourth day he was terribly hungry. As it happened in the three previous nights, the door was latched from inside without response for his knock. The woodcutter sank to the doorstep and wept. At that moment some one touching his shoulder, asked ‘what went wrong with him’.
The wood-cutter, looked up to find that it was a pious old person. He explained him his plight and said he did not eat for the last three days and was sleeping at the door steps.
On hearing this story, the pious person offered him raisins and dates, (which are considered as rich food) that he was carrying along with him.
Both ate. The wood-cutter was saved from the agony of hunger. The pious man reminded the wood-cutter that day was a Friday and a holy day. A day when you pray the God, who remove difficulties of people who pray him. The pious man advised the wood-cutter to look for someone who need a help and share with them what you have. Make it a point to tell him our story, the way you were helped. Let this act of helping the needy on the eve of Friday, spread. Saying so, the pious man vanished into the thin air. The daughter opened the door. Father explained his daughter what happened on three nights.
With the money they accumulated both daughter and father ate and enjoyed different foods for a few more days. The days passed.
One day, the princess of that country passing by in a horse drawn carriage spotted the wood-cutter’s daughter and offered her a job of her personal attendant. This brought daughter and father great fortune.
Woodcutter no longer goes to forest for his livelihood.
He forgot the pious man and his advice.
One day, the princess went to spend a day at the private park belonging to the king, accompanied by her personal assistant. There, before swimming, the princess removed her necklace and placed it on in a nearby bush. After bathing the princess forgot to take back the necklace and when she realized it is missing, blamed her personal assistant for it.
The wood-cutter’s daughter was hurt and returned home crying. Soon her father was arrested by kings’ men and public hurled insults on him.
That was a Friday. The woodcutter, remembered. He also remembered the pious man who helped him when he suffered from extreme hunger. I never bothered to keep- up my word to the pious man, he thought. I was an ungrateful person. He cried for god’s mercy.
Suddenly from nowhere appeared a packet of raisins and a poor and young boy was approaching him.
He offered the raisins he then received, to the poor boy and offered to tell his story as how he had been helped. He requested him to offer any one on Friday and help them telling the story as how he was helped.
The boy thanked the wood-cutter and went a few yards only to be stopped by a rich merchant who was searching for his missing son. The boy and his parents had a happy reunion.
Such a chain continues.
Saturday morning, the princess started on a second picnic to the same spot where she lost her necklace.
After swimming in the lake, when she returned she found her necklace shining in the bush. She realized, after all woodcutter’s daughter did not take it at all.
The royal message couriers carried the good news that the lost necklace was found. The wood-cutter was freed and his daughter reinstated. The story ended happily.
From then on, on every Friday the woodcutter made it a point to find someone in need, share what he had, and tell his tale of God who eliminated the difficulties of people who prayed him.
The Story suggests, not a mere help to others, but to establish a help-chain!