100 Moral Stories 61
My teacher went to one of our library shelves
and took down a book. She then began walking
towards my desk. I had never seen my teacher
to strike a student, but I feared she was going to
start with me and she was going to use a book
for the swatting.
“I know how you like birds,” she said as she stood looking down at my guilt-ridden face. “Here is
that field guide about birds that you are constantly checking out. It is yours. It’s time we got a new
one for the school anyway. The book is yours and you will not be punished as long as you
remember that I am not rewarding you for your misdeed, I am rewarding you for your
truthfulness.”
WHEN THE WINDS BLOW
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired
hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful
storms that raged across the ocean, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer
interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.
Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. “Are you a good
farmhand?” the farmer asked him. “Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,” answered the man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked
well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed
a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and
yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly,
“No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.”
Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire
him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for
the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the
haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were
in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors
were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow
away.
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep
while the wind blew.
When you’re prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep
when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he
had secured the farm against the storm.
We with faith secure ourselves against the storms of life by putting our trust in the
God, Our Prophet (SAW) and his Ahlul Byat (AS), We don’t need to understand, and
we just need to hold His hand to be secure in the midst of the storms.
"Do not be like persons on whom advice has no
effect; they require punishments to improve them.
A sensible man acquires guidance through
advice, while brutes and beasts always improve
through punishments." Imam Ali (AS)
