Fair Share

Ali and Abraham were brothers. Their mother died very early. Their father also died after some time. He left for his sons a cow and a date-tree.

Ali was cunning. He was greedy too. Abraham was kind and honest. He trusted his elder brother. They wanted to divide their father’s property. Ali said, “I will be very fair with you, Abraham. You take the front portion of the cow as your share. I will take the hind side of the cow. Each one gets his profit only from his share.” In the same way the tree was also divided. The upper part of the tree went to Ali. And the lower part of the tree went to Abraham.

Abraham fed the cow very well fresh grass and water. The cow became healthy. It gave lot of milk. Ali got the milk. He sold the milk and got a lot of money. But he did not share the money with Abraham. Abraham asked his brother about his share of money. Ali replied, “I got the milk from my portion of our cow. Hind part is mine as per the agreement. Each of us gets the benefits only from his part.” Abraham said nothing.

A wise man advised Abraham. He said some thing in the ear of Abraham. The next day Ali was milking the cow. Then Abraham beat the cow in the front portion. The cow started kicking. Ali shouted at Abraham. “You fool! Why do you beat the cow? Do not see me milking the cow?”

“The front portion of the cow is mine. I can do anything. That is our agreement,” said Abraham.

Ali could not say anything. Finally he agreed to share the money. Abraham said, “Not just money. You must also share the work of feeding and taking care of the cow too.” Ali agreed.

With regard to the tree, Ali had taken upper part of the tree. He made holes on the upper part of the tree. A kind of sweet-smelling juice came out of these holes. The juice was collected in pots. These pots were kept near the holes. Ali sold the juice for money. But he did not share either the money or the juice with his brother.

Again the wise man advised Abraham. The next day Ali was on the top of the tree. He was fixing pots near the holes. At that time Abraham was cutting the lower part of the tree. Ali shouted at Abraham. But Abraham reminded Ali about the agreement. He said, “I can do anything with my part. You can not question or stop me.”

Ali now realized his mistakes. He said, “Abraham, I have been a bad brother to you. I feel ashamed of my selfishness. I ask your pardon. I promise to look after you well hereafter.”

And so he did. Both the brothers lived happily. They shared the profit.

The Legacy

When my husband, Bob, died very suddenly in January 1994, I received condolences from people I hadn't heard from in years: letters, cards, flowers, calls, visits. I was overwhelmed with grief, yet uplifted by this outpouring of love from family, friends and even mere acquaintances.

One message touched me profoundly. I received a letter from my best friend from sixth grade through high school. We had drifted somewhat since graduation in 1949, as she stayed in our home town and I had not. But it was the kind of friendship that could quickly resume even if we lost touch for five or ten years.

Her husband, Pete, had died perhaps 20 years ago at a young age, leaving her with deep sorrow and heavy responsibilities: finding a job and raising three young children. She and Pete, like Bob and I, had shared one of those rare, close, "love-of- your-life-you-can-never-forget" relationships.

In her letter she shared an anecdote about my mother (now long deceased). She wrote, "When Pete died, your dear mother hugged me and said, 'Trudy, I don't know what to say . . so I'll just say I love you.'"

She closed her letter to me repeating my mother's words of so long ago, "Bonnie, I don't know what to say . . . so I'll just say I love you."

I felt I could almost hear my mother speaking to me now. What a powerful message of sympathy! How dear of my friend to cherish it all those years and then pass it on to me. I love you. Perfect words. A gift. A legacy.

by: Bonnie J. Thomas, A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, there was once a guy who was very much in love with this girl. This romantic guy folded 1,000 pieces of papercranes as a gift to his girl. Although, at that time he was just a small executive in his company, his future doesn't seemed too bright, they were very happy together. Until one day, his girl told him she was going to Paris and will never come back. She also told him that she cannot visualise any future for the both of them, so let's go their own ways there and then... heartbroken, the guy agreed.

When he regained his confidence, he worked hard day and night, slogging his body and mind just to make something out of himself. Finally with all these hardwork and with the help of friends, this guy had set up his own company...

"You never fail until you stop trying." he always told himself. "I must make it in life!"

One rainy day, while this guy was driving, he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella in the rain walking to some destination. Even with the umbrella, they were still drenched. It didn't take him long to realise those were his ex-girlfriend's parents. With a heart in getting back at them, he drove slowly beside the couple, wanting them to spot him in his luxury sedan. He wanted them to know that he wasn't the same anymore, he had his own company, car, condo, etc. He had made it in life!

Before the guy can realise, the couple was walking towards a cemetary,and he got out of his car and followed them...and he saw his ex-girlfriend, a photograph of her smiling sweetly as ever at him from her tombstone... and he saw his precious papercranes in a bottle placed beside her tomb. Her parents saw him. He walked over and asked them why this had happened. They explained, she did not leave for France at all. She was stricken ill with cancer. In her heart, she had believed that he will make it someday, but she did not want her illness to be his obstacle ... therefore she had chosen to leave him.

She had wanted her parents to put his papercranes beside her, because, if the day comes when fate brings him to her again he can take some of those back with him. The guy just wept ...the worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them but knowing you can't have them and will never see them again.
The End."

A tragic story that perhaps happens only in the movies. At the end of the day, money is money is money but love is divine. In our quest for our material wealth, take time to make time for our loved ones. There will be a time when we have only memories to cling to.

Take this weekend to show our "love" to all that are close to us.

Meeting God

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived ...
... so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and he started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons.

The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.

He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy? "He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." However, before his son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring... all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!

-Author Unknown-