The story goes that long, long ago there lived a monster in a tiny village. The villagers were all terrified of him, and felt their village was cursed to have such a creature living in their midst. Several men tried to fight the monster. One man attacked the monster with a sharp sword.
The monster grabbed the sword and almost magically pulled out another sword, twice as large, twice as sharp and cut the man into half. Another time, a villager set off with a large wooden club to hit the monster. The monster responded by slamming the man with a wooden club, twice as large as the one that the villager had. On another occasion, a villager tried to set the monster on fire. But the monster opened his mouth and
spewed huge flames – that roasted the poor man.
Scared by these events the village folks gave up trying to fight the monster. They felt this was their lot, and they had to learn to live with it. And then one day a little boy said he would go and vanquish the monster. People were surprised, and despite their disbelief, went along to see the little boy take on the monster.
As the boy looked up at the giant, the monster just flared his nostrils and glared back. The little boy then took out an apple and offered it to the monster. The monster grabbed it, held it to his mouth, and then thrust his clenched fist in front of the boy. Bang! As the fist slowly opened, the people were astonished to see two delicious apples there. Twice as red and twice as large as the apple that the boy had offered.
The boy then took out a little earthen pot with some water and gave it to the monster. And the monster took that and responded by placing in front of the boy two urns made of gold, filled with delicious juice. The people were ecstatic. They suddenly realised that the monster was not a curse – but a boon to the village. The little boy smiled. And the giant just smiled back.
Learning: While the story is centuries old, the monster is still around. In colleges, in the office, and in our lives. And it’s a good idea to remember the lessons from that story. Most of our problems appear that way because of the way we look at them. You get back what you give. Twice as much! And you’ll discover that the evil monster is in fact a benevolent giant.
The monster grabbed the sword and almost magically pulled out another sword, twice as large, twice as sharp and cut the man into half. Another time, a villager set off with a large wooden club to hit the monster. The monster responded by slamming the man with a wooden club, twice as large as the one that the villager had. On another occasion, a villager tried to set the monster on fire. But the monster opened his mouth and
spewed huge flames – that roasted the poor man.
Scared by these events the village folks gave up trying to fight the monster. They felt this was their lot, and they had to learn to live with it. And then one day a little boy said he would go and vanquish the monster. People were surprised, and despite their disbelief, went along to see the little boy take on the monster.
As the boy looked up at the giant, the monster just flared his nostrils and glared back. The little boy then took out an apple and offered it to the monster. The monster grabbed it, held it to his mouth, and then thrust his clenched fist in front of the boy. Bang! As the fist slowly opened, the people were astonished to see two delicious apples there. Twice as red and twice as large as the apple that the boy had offered.
The boy then took out a little earthen pot with some water and gave it to the monster. And the monster took that and responded by placing in front of the boy two urns made of gold, filled with delicious juice. The people were ecstatic. They suddenly realised that the monster was not a curse – but a boon to the village. The little boy smiled. And the giant just smiled back.
Learning: While the story is centuries old, the monster is still around. In colleges, in the office, and in our lives. And it’s a good idea to remember the lessons from that story. Most of our problems appear that way because of the way we look at them. You get back what you give. Twice as much! And you’ll discover that the evil monster is in fact a benevolent giant.
No comments:
Post a Comment