I'm an avid poster on the Answer Center and a couple of Discussion
Boards.
Below are a couple of
my favorite community-related stories:
THE
FENCE
There
was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails
and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in
the
back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.
Then
it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his
temper
than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the
boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the
father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that
he
was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was
finally
able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The
father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You
have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence
will
never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just
like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't
matter
how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal
wound
is as bad as a physical one...and can never be taken back."
THE
STONE SOUP STORY
Once upon a time, there was
a great famine. People jealously hoarded whatever food they could find,
hiding it even from their friends and neighbors. One day a peddler
drove
his wagon into a village and began asking questions as if he planned to
stay for the night.
"There's not a bite to eat
in the whole province," he was told. "Better keep moving on."
"Oh, I have everything I
need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to
share
with all of you." He pulled an iron cauldron from his wagon, filled it
with water, and built a fire under it. Then, with great ceremony, he
drew
an ordinary-looking stone from a velvet bag and dropped it into the
water.
By now, hearing the rumor
of food, most of the villagers had come to the square or watched from
their
windows. As the peddler sniffed the "broth" and licked his lips in
anticipation,
hunger began to overcome their skepticism.
"Ahh," the peddler said to
himself rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone
soup with CABBAGE -- that's hard to beat."
Soon a villager approached
hesitantly, holding a cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and
added it to the pot. "Capital!" cried the peddler. "You know, I once
had
stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit
for a king."
The village butcher managed
to find some salt beef...and so it went, through potatoes, onions,
carrots,
mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for
all.
And from that time on, long
after the famine had ended, they reminisced about the finest soup
they'd
ever had.
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