The Woman Giving Birth
Once upon a time, in a lovely cottage in the Valley of Flowers where lively rivers flowed, there lived a young woman. Known for her cheerful nature and her helpful heart, this beautiful woman waited impatiently for the day when she would soon hold her first baby in her arms. The spring winds slipping in through the window of the cottage spread the smells of dried chamomile and fresh earth through the room. The faithful midwife of the house stirred the healing linden tea boiling on the hearth and stood lovingly beside the young woman. When that great and wondrous day finally came, a sweet excitement covered the valley. But when the pains of birth began, a deep suffering and fear covered the young woman's cheerful face.
The violent pains grew stronger with every passing minute and pushed the woman's patience to its very end. Unable to bear the weight of the pain, the woman looked at the midwife in tears and began to cry out loudly. "I will never endure such pain again and I will never step into this hardship," she shouted. The experienced midwife put a warm cloth on the young woman's sweating forehead and listened to her calmly. The midwife smiled and said, "Great promises made in hard moments are like a leaf before the wind, my child." But the young woman, under the effect of the pain, repeated that she would not change her mind and would never suffer again.
Just then the first breath of a small miracle was about to be heard inside the cottage. After the last minutes that passed with deep effort, the cry of a tiny baby broke the silence of the room. The midwife carefully swaddled the sweet-smelling, healthy baby and laid it slowly in its mother's loving arms. The moment it touched its mother's breast the baby fell silent, and the woman felt an endless peace fill her heart. All the pains she had suffered and the oaths she had sworn a few minutes before suddenly flew away before that pair of tiny eyes. As the young woman smelled and kissed her baby, she understood with a smile that all the hardships she had lived through were worth this great happiness. The troubles suffered in hard times are quickly forgotten in the light of the great joys that follow. There is no mercy without toil.