In the small town of Rahda there lived an old man who roamed the streets without nowhere to live. He hunched over his wooden cane and with much struggle took light steps as he headed in his direction. His dog always followed along. The man never begged for food or money but the townspeople knew that he had no food or shelter so they would often feed him. Every morning he would walk to the schoolhouse and wave to all the kids as his dog sat next to him. He would then walk around town picking up any trash that littered the streets.

At the end of a long neighborhood street there lived a little boy named Leo. He was only five but he was very smart. Every morning, his mother would give him a piece of bread and coffee to give to the old man as he passed by the house. This was Leo's favorite part of his morning. He would go outside and greet the man, pet his dog, and wish him a blessed day. Although he felt content after giving the man something to eat and drink, Leo still felt saddened that the old man had no home and no family.

The years went by and Leo was now ten years old. One day he decided that he wanted to talk to the old man and see how he could help him. He went outside and handed the man his bread and coffee. He then asked him if he could talk to him for a bit and the old man agreed.

Leo said, "Mister every morning I watch you and your dog come by and head out for the rest of your day. I can't help but wonder how it is that you make it through cold months or hot weather."

The old man replied, "Sometimes you realize that others have it worse than you just feeling too cold or too hot."

This caught Leo off guard because he did not understand how a man who had no home could have it any less worse than someone else. He then said, "You know for years now I have been saving up my allowance and I wanted you to have it. I am blessed with a home and family and I want to do something to help you, sir."

The old man then said, "For years now your family has been feeding me in the morning and you have never been anything other than kind to my dog and me. I do not live my life unhappy because of my living conditions but I am more so grateful that I am alive. Some people live rich lives but are still miserable and for those I pray every day. Little boy, your heart is so big and your kindness radiates. Please save your money for a future emergency. Never change and always be kind to all."

Several years went by

The little boy who once was only five years old was now 25 and he always thought back to that day and never forgot to always be kind.

Author's Note: I derived this story from two Jataka tales. One was, "The Fairy and the Hare," and the other was "The Master's Test." In one tale, the animals all steal something from someone else and in the end that is what they have to offer. The hare was the only animal that refused to steal from others so in the end he only had himself to offer. This was seen as kindness because he rather someone feed off of his body than to steal from someone else. I used that to incorporate selflessness into my story. The hare in that story was giving himself to the fairy to eat. That was also kindness in a way because he wanted the fairy to have food even if it was himself. In the other story, one of the pupils does not want to steal and he tells the teacher that he would rather beg for money than to steal from anyone. This is someone with a pure heart and honest intentions. I incorporated that into the old man character and into the little boy as well. The characters from my story were original and they only exemplified traits displayed by the characters in the original tales.

Bibliography:

Twenty Jataka Tales

Author: Noor Inayat (Khan)

Boy and Man [source]