Two brothers
Two brothers worked together on the family farm.
One was married and had a large family. The other
was single. At the day’s end, the brothers shared
everything equally, produce and profit.
Then one day, the single brother said to himself, “It’s not right that we
should share equally the produce and the profit. I’m alone and my needs are
simple.” So each night he took a sack of grain from his bin and crept across
the field between their houses, dumping it into his brothers’ bin.
Meanwhile, the married brother said to himself, “It’s not right that we should
share the produce and the profit equally. After all, I’m married and I have
my wife and my children to look after me in years to come. My brother has
no one, and no one to take care of his future.” So each night he took a sack
of grain and dumped it into his single brother’s bin.
Both men were puzzled for years because their supply of grain never
dwindled. Then one dark night the two brothers bumped into each other.
Slowly it dawned on them what was happening. They dropped their sacks
and embraced one another…
- Source Unknown
From Brain Cavanaugh’s More Sower’s Seeds
For it is in giving that we receive.
- Saint Francis of Assisi
