The Well
There was a place in a far away land where it never rained, and nor did springs or rivers flow there. The people of this land had never before seen water, nor was there a word in their language to describe it.
Never the less the people there needed water to survive, and so each day they would go out and search for stones in which a little moisture had been retained, and they would sit and suck on these stones for hours. This would take most of the day, and their lives were indeed hard.
One day a stranger appeared in their village whom they had never seen before.
“Why do you sit there all day sucking stones?” he asked.
“Because we need the moisture they contain to survive” they answered.
“Why don’t you drink water?” asked the stranger.
“Water?” came the reply. “What is that?”
Upon realizing that these people had never before drunk water the stranger set about digging a well, and he exhorted the people to help. Some thought him crazy whilst others thought he was mad, yet there were some who joined in and helped him to dig the well. For although they did not understand, there was something about this stranger that caused them to trust him. There was a quiet certainty about this stranger who exuded an air of confidence which inspired them, and which gave them hope.
They kept on digging until finally, as the sun sank low on the horizon, they found water.
He gave water to them all to drink, and they were all delighted and overjoyed. The water tasted so good! Even the disbelievers drank of the water, and they too became ecstatic.
Their celebrations went on long into the night, and they drank until they could drink no more.
Early the next morning the stranger was preparing to leave for his journey was long and he had far to go. The people gathered around him to thank him for what he had done and for what he had shown them.
“There is just one more thing that I must tell you before I go” the stranger said. “Listen well because this is important. Every day you must go to the well and tend to it. You should remove any sand that has blown in so that the water remains accessible.”
They thanked him once more, and the stranger went on his way. “We must remember his words” said one of the elders, “and we will write them down so that we shall never forget. But first we must go out and suck stones, because this is our custom. This is our tradition.”
By the end of the day there was no time remaining to remove sand from the well, for sucking the moisture out of stones is very time consuming.
“Tomorrow we will remove the sand from the well” said the elder, but when the next day came they once more went out to suck stones, and once again found that no more time remained to remove sand from the well. So it went on, day after day, until the well became completely full of sand leaving not even a trace.
The people did not forget about the stranger who came to show them water. Some wrote songs about him, and about the day on which their thirst was quenched. Some even painted pictures of him so that they would never forget his face, and so that their children and their grandchildren could know about him too. They even built a great hall in his honor where these pictures could be hung, and where they could gather to remember him and to sing his praises. The people did not forget the stranger.
But let me ask you this. Should the stranger happen to return, do you think he would be pleased that the people had remembered him so well? Or would he be saddened by the stupidity of these people in allowing the well to go dry? I will leave it to you to decide./TE
There was a place in a far away land where it never rained, and nor did springs or rivers flow there. The people of this land had never before seen water, nor was there a word in their language to describe it.
Never the less the people there needed water to survive, and so each day they would go out and search for stones in which a little moisture had been retained, and they would sit and suck on these stones for hours. This would take most of the day, and their lives were indeed hard.
One day a stranger appeared in their village whom they had never seen before.
“Why do you sit there all day sucking stones?” he asked.
“Because we need the moisture they contain to survive” they answered.
“Why don’t you drink water?” asked the stranger.
“Water?” came the reply. “What is that?”
Upon realizing that these people had never before drunk water the stranger set about digging a well, and he exhorted the people to help. Some thought him crazy whilst others thought he was mad, yet there were some who joined in and helped him to dig the well. For although they did not understand, there was something about this stranger that caused them to trust him. There was a quiet certainty about this stranger who exuded an air of confidence which inspired them, and which gave them hope.
They kept on digging until finally, as the sun sank low on the horizon, they found water.
He gave water to them all to drink, and they were all delighted and overjoyed. The water tasted so good! Even the disbelievers drank of the water, and they too became ecstatic.
Their celebrations went on long into the night, and they drank until they could drink no more.
Early the next morning the stranger was preparing to leave for his journey was long and he had far to go. The people gathered around him to thank him for what he had done and for what he had shown them.
“There is just one more thing that I must tell you before I go” the stranger said. “Listen well because this is important. Every day you must go to the well and tend to it. You should remove any sand that has blown in so that the water remains accessible.”
They thanked him once more, and the stranger went on his way. “We must remember his words” said one of the elders, “and we will write them down so that we shall never forget. But first we must go out and suck stones, because this is our custom. This is our tradition.”
By the end of the day there was no time remaining to remove sand from the well, for sucking the moisture out of stones is very time consuming.
“Tomorrow we will remove the sand from the well” said the elder, but when the next day came they once more went out to suck stones, and once again found that no more time remained to remove sand from the well. So it went on, day after day, until the well became completely full of sand leaving not even a trace.
The people did not forget about the stranger who came to show them water. Some wrote songs about him, and about the day on which their thirst was quenched. Some even painted pictures of him so that they would never forget his face, and so that their children and their grandchildren could know about him too. They even built a great hall in his honor where these pictures could be hung, and where they could gather to remember him and to sing his praises. The people did not forget the stranger.
But let me ask you this. Should the stranger happen to return, do you think he would be pleased that the people had remembered him so well? Or would he be saddened by the stupidity of these people in allowing the well to go dry? I will leave it to you to decide./TE
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