Short Stories # 2: The Rich and The Poor

"The Rich and The Poor"

One fine night on a trip to the countryside, a Mercedes was the only car in sight in the vast, isolated area. In it were a father and his son, belonging to a very wealthy family. Suddenly, the lone figure of the car stopped moving. It had broken down. Sensing that there was no way out other than spending the night at a broken down inn a few metres away, the Father approached the caretaker of the inn. The old figure warmly welcomed his unexpected visitors and told them that they could spend the night there.

The next morning, the duo left the inn in the afternoon after their car had been repaired. On reaching their palatial mansion in the city, the father asked his son, "Did you see how the poor live?"

The son replied, "Hmm... Yes."

"What did you observe, son?"

"I saw that they had dogs, cows, buffaloes, cats and other animals at their place whereas we have only a pair of parrots."

"We have all this artificial lighting while they have the rich sky and the stars at night."

"We have a small swimming pool while I saw a river and a waterfall near their place."

"They can wander in their endless fields while I am confined to a small room."

"We buy all our food from the supermarket, they grow their own food."

"The boy there has 3 siblings to play with, while I am all alone."

The Father was speechless. Then the boy added, "Thanks, Pa. Today I learnt how poor we are."

Hard truth: There are always two sides of a coin. Never ignore either.

The above short story is a modified version of a popular folktale.