Story: "We Were Always With You"

Once upon a time lived a young couple with two beautiful children. The couple was very happy, but their happiness did not protect them from the reality of their situation. Times were hard for everyone. Most men were out of work due to locus eating their crops. The farmer tried to replant the crops without much success. Hunger seemed to turn to anger as the farmer looked into his wife's eyes as she asked him how they would feed their children. Everything was gone. Their supplies had been depleted. What would he tell his children as he laid them to bed with growling tummies?

Trapped Within The Well

He could not bare to tell his wife and children the truth. The truth was he did not know how they would eat or if they could survive this tragedy. As his wife got the children ready for bed, he slipped out of the house without saying anything. He went into the forest hoping to find something anything that could provide a way. The farmer walked for so long in the dark that he could no longer see his house, but he could feel their hunger as he did his own. He continued through the forest until he came upon a well.


He could hear cries of distress coming from the well. As he looked deep into the well he could see his wife and two children. How did this happened, he asked his wife? I left you at the house just as you were tucking our children into bed. We have always been with you dear husband, she replied. We were with you as you walked through the dark. We were with you when you were hungry. We were with you when you were scared. We have always been here. Pull us out one by one and let us be together.


The farmer was confused, terrified, and ashamed. He had turned his back and walked away from his family. This was a mistake he would not make again. He pulled his children out and then reached for his wife. She appeared to be deeper than the children were. Just when he was about to give up he turned to see her by his side. Fear not my husband I am here with you. I am in deep in this life we have created. The family started their journey back to their house. Some might think that their situation had not changed, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sure the crops were still destroyed and they were still hungry, but they knew they would be okay.


 As the farmer's wife grabbed his hand they found their way back. Back to their home and back to one another. The farmer laid his children down for bed alongside his wife. That night he thanked the heavens for all that he had been given. When he woke in the morning he could smell a fresh country breakfast being cooked on the stove. He could hear his children laughing and playing around a warm fire. He rushed down the stair to see if he was imagining it all, but it was real. The man knew this wonder was created out of the strength of his families love. The man wondered how he deserved to have such a loving family and how he could have been so ungrateful.



Author's Note: This story was inspired by "Panchatantra: The Ungrateful Man." The husband was thought to be lazy and ungrateful by his wife and children who were starving as a result of their poverty. He journeyed into the forest to find a way to take care of his family. He discovered a well with several animals and a man stuck at the bottom of it. The tiger begged the Brahman to pull him out and save his life, but the Brahman feared him. The tiger promised not to harm the Brahman. To receive salvation the Brahman pulled the tiger free. He also pulled out a monkey and a snake; which he was terrified to touch, but he promised not to bite him. The animals warned the Brahman not to pull out the man who had been trapped in the well with them. He represents every sin, they told him. Each animal asked the Brahman to call upon them in the future so that they might repay his kindness. Once the animals had left the Brahman pulled the other man out. He felt they were one of the same kind. Along his journey the Brahman visited each of the animals, receiving supplies and food. The gold given to the man by one animal was sold by the next, but the gold was stolen from the King's son. This made it look like the Brahman had killed the prince rather than the tiger. The Brahman was imprisoned until the snake devised a plan to bite the King's queen in order to set the Brahman free. Only the Brahman's touch could cure the queen. The King called upon his prisoner to cure his wife. The King was pleased and gave the Brahman a thousand villages and appointed him privy counselor. The Brahman sent for his family and lived happily ever after.


Bibliography:
Panchatantra: "The Ungrateful Man" Story source: The Panchatantra of Vishnu Sharma, translated by Arthur W. Ryder (1925).
The Ungrateful Man
Photo Water Well Photo