Folk Tales
An old, old man lived in the home of his son. The son had a wife and a
young son of his own. At meal times the old man sat at the kitchen
table. His eyes were dim and he barely saw; his ears were dull and he
barely heard, and his hands trembled. He had difficulty holding his
spoon as he tried to feed himself broth from a bowl. Now and then a
few drops fell from his spoon on to the tablecloth, or the bowl tipped too
far, spilling.
His son and his son's wife were disgusted at the sight of him. Finally,
one day, after the old man's trembling hand caused the bowl to fall to the
floor and break, they gave him an old wooden bowl, and made him sit
with it out of sight behind the stove. At mealtimes, they put food into the
wooden bowl and left the old man alone to manage as best he could.
One evening, after dinner, they were all in the sitting room. The old
man's son noticed that his own young son had gathered few pieces of
wood and stored them in a corner among his playthings.
'What have you there?' The youngster's father pointed to the wood.
The child looked up.
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