An elderly man had two loaves of freshly baked bread. As he walked along the street, three poor and hungry young girls quickly approached him. Their stomachs yearned for the loaves.
“Please sir, help us with food” each of the girls begged.
The man noticed that one of the girls was deaf and dumb as she was expressively using sign language. He said.
“I only have two loaves. How do I share them among the three of you?”
Suddenly, one of the girls whispered.
“You can share the loaves among the two of us who are able to speak and hear. The deaf and dumb girl can get nothing”
The man asked.
“But why won’t she get a share?”
The girl responded.
“Because she’s different from us”
The elderly man was quiet for a second, and then he said.
“Well… you know what, actually, I think you have a point there. The two of you who are able to speak and hear, will each get a loaf of bread. But the girl who is deaf and unable to speak, will get nothing, absolutely nothing for her”
Quickly, he handed the two loaves to the two girls and walked away. The girls jumped for joy and clapped their hands in excitement.
Meanwhile, the deaf and dumb girl felt sad and dejected. She couldn’t hold back her tears as she watched the other girls walk away happily.
A few hours later, the elderly man came to the street with a bag of food and fresh milk. Seeing him again, the three poor girls rushed towards him.
But surprisingly, he handed the bag of food and fresh milk to the deaf and dumb girl. She was utterly amazed. Then he gave her a piece of paper. She read it.
“Maybe if you don’t get what you want, something better awaits you”
Many times, we feel sad and dejected when life doesn’t give us what we want. We grieve so much over the things we’ve lost in life that we find it very difficult to look on the bright side of it. The truth is, some of these things we want, don’t usually come to us, not because we don’t deserve it, but because we deserve so much more. Yes, so much more.
BY CHIMA DICKSON
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 11 FEBRUARY 2024
