A Fairy Tale

A FAIRY TALE

"Once upon a time there was a fairy '"

"Have you seen fairies, father?"

"No, I haven't"

"Has anybody seen them?"

"No, nobody has seen them"

"Then how do we know about them?"

"May be some people had seen them in earlier times. They have told us about them"

"They have wings. Haven't they?"

"yes"

"Why don't we have wings, father?"

"Because we are not fairies"

"But fairies are like human beings, aren't they?"

"Yes, but they are different kinds of human beings"

"How are they different from us?"

"They are blessed by the God"

"Why are they blessed?"

"Because of their good deeds in their human life. But wouldn't you allow me to tell the story?"

"O.K. tell me the story"

"The fairy looked beautiful. She was extremely fair and '"

"All the fairies look beautiful. Isn't it true father?"

"Yes, they all are beautiful"

"But why aren't we as beautiful as them?"

"Because we are not blessed by the God. Anyway, one night the fairy came down to the earth to sing and '"

"Why do fairies always come at night, father?"

"Because, they want to avoid us lest we see them in the daytime"

"What would happen if we see them?"

"Their fairy life would end. They have to be born as human beings once again"

"Don't they love to be born as human beings?"

"No"

"Why?"

"They feel it cursed to be born as human beings"

"Are we cursed then, father?"

"Not exactly. Human life is a precious gift of the God"

"But their life is a better one. Isn't it?"

"Yes"

"How are they better than us?"

"Because they don't have any sorrows, worries, ailments and'"

"And they don't have any study either"

"They do have studies. They study the universe"

"Where do they get their books from?"

"Stars are their books and nature is their teacher"

"Why do they want to know the universe?"

"Because they want to know the meaning of life, the music of the God"

"What is the music of the God, father?"

"It is a blissful tune which creates lives of the stars, planets, moons and all the animal kinds in different worlds. Anyway, she came down to a forest to sing and dance. It was a full moon night. A tiger was roaming around the forest for his prey because he was hungry. At first '"

"Tigers are always hungry. Aren't they?"

"Not always. But '"

"But they always kill other animals whenever they meet them"

"As they are a big animal, they need more food"

"Are they also the music of the God?"

"Certainly"

"Then why are they so cruel?"

"They are not cruel. They kill animals as they have to survive. God has created them in this fashion. Every animal has its own way of living. Now, listen to the story. At first, the tiger did not notice the fairy. Sometime after, he heard the song. He crept stealthily towards her."

"Will the tiger eat her?"

"Have patience. Let me finish the story. When the tiger was almost a jump away from her, the fairy noticed him. She was terribly afraid."

"Why was she afraid? She had wings. She could easily fly away."

"Yes, she could. But she became so nervous that she forgot to fly. Instead, she climbed upon the nearest tree. The tiger also tried desperately to climb up the tree. It roared like anything. The fairy was shivering with fear. Suddenly, a fire broke out in the forest."

"How could a fire break out in the forest?"

"Sometimes, in summer, the dry branches of trees get rubbed with one another and produce sparks of fire which is spread over the whole forest quickly. This is called a forest-fire. When the fire started, all the animals tried to come out of the jungle. There was a loud hue and cry. The tiger heard it. But it was too late for him. The fire was just around him and was about to touch the tree where the fairy perched herself. He had no chance to run away."

"What happened to the fairy, papa?" ' the boy yawned.

"Next morning, the villagers discovered that the whole forest was destroyed by the fire. All the trees were burnt. Interestingly enough, they found only one tree which was not touched by the fire. It stood alone afresh amidst the whole gutted forest. Its reddish yellow leaves were fluttering with the gentle breeze. From the top of the tree, a white flower was giving out a fragrance. The villagers had never seen such a flower before and the scent was also unknown to them. Even now if you go there, you would find '"

The little boy was fast asleep, calm and composed

THE RAT RACE

THE RAT RACE

"Who has won the race?"

"It's me, obviously!" ' said the other rat.

"But I think I've won it. Let us see the photo finish."

They saw the video again and again but could not come to any conclusion. It was a little bit difficult to decide the issue because one was running a hundred metre race while the other was competing for a high jump event. They felt puzzled. The problem remaining undecided, they became unhappy and passed sleepless nights. So, they went to the ombudsman. The ombudsman saw the clippings carefully with all his attention and said,

"It is very difficult to take a conclusive decision on any matter in this age of confusion. We have a dog and a parrot. The parrot often disturbs the dog. My wife loves parrots and I love dogs. She says the parrots are far better than the dogs. I think dogs are better because they have utilities and they don't disturb others like parrots. I do not dare to tell my wife all these logics and the problem remains unresolved."

Being unsatisfied with the judgement of the ombudsman, the rats went to the Quazi. He was a somber looking man with profound knowledge. He heard both of them solemnly, saw the video and then said,

"Hmmm! This is not a question of law but a problem of ethics. As you all know ethics is based on moral principles, we have to find out the root cause of the differences of attitude towards the life among us before solving this problem. Suppose you have a pain in the chest. Who would you go to?"

"To the doctor, sir" ' said both the rats.

"And if you have a falling bridge, who would you.."

"To an engineer"

"So if you have a pain and you go to an engineer that would not solve your problem. Similarly, every ethical value has some basic tenets practised through the ages on trial and error basis. It varies from place to place, nation to nation and race to race. So your problem is not a question as to who has won the race but the problem of our race as to how we look at things in our life."

The rats came out more confused and decided to go to the king for an ultimate solution. The king patiently listened to their contentions. He watched the video clip and was terribly amused. He thought for a while and then said,

"I cannot see any picture in it."

"But there is a clipping in it, His Highness. We can clearly see it" ' both the rats yelled at once.

"But I don't find anything in it. The race was in your mind. It was an illusion. Since there was no race at all, there arises no question of winning it. Now go and be happy and merry. Life is like a spring. However frisky it may be in the beginning, it would ultimately join the river and pour itself into the vast seas and oceans."

The rats got back to their places satisfied because nobody won or, lost the race.

GENEROSITY

Mahatma Gandhi went from city to city, village to village collecting funds for the Charkha Sangh. During one of his tours he addressed a meeting in Orissa. After his speech a poor old woman got up. She was bent with age, herhair was grey and herclothes

were in tatters. The volunteers tried to stop her, but she fought her way to the place where Gandhiji was sitting. “I must see him,” she insisted and going up to Gandhiji touched his feet. Then from the folds of her sari she brought out a copper coin and placed it at his feet. Gandhiji picked up the copper coin and put it away carefully. The Charkha Sangh funds were under the charge of Jamnalal Bajaj. He asked Gandhiji for the coin but Gandhiji refused. “I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh,” Jamnalal Bajaj said laughingly “yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin.” “This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands,” Gandhiji said. “If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn’t mean much. But this coin was perhaps all that the poor woman possessed. She gave me all she had. That was very generous of her. What a great sacrifice she made. That is why I value this copper coin more than a crore of rupees.”