The Old Man and His Grandson

Once upon a time there was a very old grandfather. His eyes had grown dim, his ears could not hear well, and his knees trembled. When he sat at the table, he could hardly hold his spoon; he spilled soup on the tablecloth, and some of it ran back out of his mouth. The grandfather lived with his son, his daughter-in-law and his little grandson.

His son and daughter-in-law began to find this disgusting. In the end they took the old grandfather away from the table and sat him in the corner behind the stove. They gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough to fill him up. There he sat, looking sadly at the table, and his eyes filled with tears.

One day the grandfather's trembling hands could not hold the bowl; it fell to the floor and broke. The young woman scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. So they bought him a wooden bowl for a few pennies. From then on he had to eat out of that wooden bowl.

One evening, as they were sitting like this, the little four-year-old grandson sat down on the floor and began trying to fit some little pieces of wood together. His father asked: "What are you doing, son?" The child answered: "I'm making a little wooden bowl. When I'm grown up, I'll give my mother and father their food in it."

The husband and wife looked at each other for a while. Then they both began to cry. At once they fetched the old grandfather from behind the stove and brought him to the table. From then on they always let him eat at the table with them. And when he spilled a little soup, they said nothing. In fact, every morning the daughter-in-law put a clean napkin in front of the grandfather, and his son helped him hold his spoon.

As for the little grandson, he put away the wooden bowl he had made. But he sat beside his grandfather and every evening offered him a bite of his own food. The grandfather would smile and stroke his grandson's head with his trembling hand.

This story tells us: children grow up watching what their elders do. However we treat our old people today, that is how we will be treated tomorrow. Seating an old person in the place of honour at the table brings blessing to the whole house.