REFLECTIONS ON LIFE

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."  The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest and they went to sleep on an old sofa.  When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen?...

One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor. They spent a few days and nights on the farm what would be considered a very poor family. After they return from the trip, the father asked his son how he liked the trip. "It was great, Dad" the son replied. "Did you see how poor people can be?" The father asked. "Oh yeah" said the son. "So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four, we have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end" And he added: "We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon" Before his father could say anything, he continued: "We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond o...

A beggar was given a piece of bread, but nothing to put on it. Hoping to get something to go with his bread, he went to a nearby inn and asked for a handout. The innkeeper turned him away with nothing, but the beggar sneaked into the kitchen where he saw a large pot of soup cooking over the fire. He held his piece of bread over the steaming pot, hoping to thus capture a bit of flavor from the good smelling vapor. Suddenly the innkeeper seized him by the arm and accused him of stealing soup.  "I took no soup," said the beggar. "I was only smelling the vapor."  "Then you must pay for the smell," answered the innkeeper. The poor beggar had no money, so the angry innkeeper dragged him to court.  Now The judge heard the innkeeper's complaint and the beggar's explanation. So you demand payment for the smell of your soup?" summarized him after the hearing. "Yes!" insisted the innkeeper.  The judge of the town listened carefully both...

A poor family lives in a remote village and this family owns one cow.  Each day they live from the milk of the cow.  If there is little milk, they eat little.  It there is lots of milk, they eat well.   The lives of the mother, the father and the children depend on the cow. One autumn day, a traveller stops in the village. He is hungry, so the family shares their milk.  The traveller is grateful, so he wishes to return the favour and help the family.  He doesn’t know how to help the family, but he hears that there is a wise man in the village.  He walks over to the home of the wise man. “I was hungry and the family fed me. I would like to help them. How can I help this family?” The wise man said “Kill the cow.” “Kill it? How can that help them? They depend for their lives on that cow.” The wise man repeated “Kill the cow.” The traveller was nervous about that strange recommendation, but at the end he did it.  He was...