“I
want to become a gardener,” said Phil, when he was 14 years old, for he was
looking for a trade to learn.
“It
is so wonderful to live always amongst the green and beautiful smelling
flowers.”
But
after a short time he returned home, moaning about his work which forced him to
remain bent over the ground and to keep shovelling dirt here and there. His
back and his knees hurt him and he gave up planting flowers.
So
he decided to become a hunter. “In the green and shady woods, life must be
wonderful,” he said.
But
soon he was back with the excuse that he could not support the fog and the
early morning air.
Then
he had the idea to become a fisherman. “To sail on the clear waters of the
river in a nice boat and to pull in net after net of fish must be truly a
wonderful trade,” he said.
But
even this joy came to an end.
“How
can one ever remain dry,” he moaned, “and water for me is the worst thing
ever.”
At
last he decided to become a cook. “To the cook,” he said, “gardeners, hunters,
and fishermen consign all the fruit of their work and he is never without a
good meal.”
But
once again he returned home with a thousand
excuses.
“It
would be all wonderful,” he said, “if there wasn’t that blessed fire. When I am
in front of the fire, I seem to melt with the heat.”
Phil’s
father did not let him choose a fifth trade and told him severely: “If you want
to be happy, you must learn to support the difficulties of life courageously.
If you want to avoid all the unpleasant things that the air, the earth, water
and fire often cause us, you would have to leave this world. If you think
always of the good that you receive in your present condition, you will see
that a little at a time the difficulties will seem insignificant.”
Phil
took those words to heart and when he heard someone else moaning he would give
them the same advice his father had given him.
If
we could look in every heart,
We’d
find that each one has its part
And
those who travel fortune’s road
Sometimes
carry the biggest load.
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