The Old Man and His Son
Once upon a time, at the edge of an old forest where cool waters flowed with a babbling sound, there lived an old man and his son. As the years passed the father's eyes had grown weak, and because of his trembling hands he often spilled his soup onto the table. Instead of grieving over the poor man's condition, his son and his daughter-in-law grew more impatient with every passing day. In the end they decided to move the old father away from the main table and to seat him in a secluded corner beside the hearth. The wretched man, with damp eyes, began to eat his meal all alone on the wooden chair beside the hearth. One evening the old father's hands trembled violently again, and the porcelain bowl fell to the floor and broke. His son grew angry, scolded him harshly and said, "From now on we will give you your meals in a wooden bowl."
The old man let out a deep sigh, but he buried his sorrow in his heart and did not make a sound. The next day the man's little grandson began to carve the wooden blocks in the garden patiently with a knife. Seeing that the child was shaping the wood with deep attention, his father came near him with curiosity. With a smile full of love he asked, "Tell me, my child, what are you doing there?" The little child raised his innocent eyes to his father and answered in an extremely calm voice. "I am carving a wooden bowl for you to eat your meals from when you grow up and get old, father." These words fell like a thunderbolt into the father's heart and stirred up a great storm in his mind.
Crushed under the weight of the mistake he had made, the son at once ran to his old father beside the hearth. Holding the old man's calloused and shaky hands, he begged for forgiveness in tears. He embraced him tenderly and seated him once more at the place of honour of the table, holding him in the highest esteem. From that day on he wiped up with love every soup his father spilled, and he never said a single hurtful word to him again. The little hut turned into a peaceful home overflowing with the warmth of respect and loyalty. A person owes the elders who raised him the very same tenderness and respect that he shows to his own child. You reap what you sow.