Things Are Not Always What They Seem

[Dria El]

THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guestroom. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it."

"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later...

[Lilu]

I have read this before and loved it! :)

Lilu

[Adrenaline Junkie]

I enjoyed that.

[Sequoia]

that was a good one.

may I forward that in an e-mail to my friends?

[Dria El]

Originally posted by Lilu
I have read this before and loved it! :)

Lilu

Me too! Only this time I decided to share. :)

[Dria El]

Originally posted by paranoid punk
I enjoyed that.

I'm so glad you did!

:)

[Dria El]

Originally posted by Puma Hime
that was a good one.

may I forward that in an e-mail to my friends?

Absolutely!

:D

[Sequoia]

^__^ yaay!

[willowfairy]

i like that story. it just goes to show that things seem to be bad, or even good, when it could be the opposite. you never know.

[Starlight]

That was cool! I liked it very much! I'm glad you posted it! :)

[faeriedust]

beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!! I really enjoyed that.:thumbsup:

[loopy]

:D:D:D:D Thanks! You always find the coolest things. :D

[Dria El]

You guys always make me feel sooo good! (which is why I keep posting them!)

And, of course you're welcome!

:)

[~*Ginger*~]

You just made me cry...

thanks for sharing...


THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM

Two travelling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guestroom. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement. As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field. The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.

"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it."

"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later...

[Calyx]

That was lovely! Thank you so much for sharing. Sometimes we need gentle reminders that things *aren't* always what they seem. :floating:

[Cerulean]

It's a good story, but do you really believe it, or do you want to believe it?

[asamananara]

Reminds me of another story with a different moral:
A young Buddhist acolyte was walking a pilgrimage when he
noticed a caterpillar slowly inching it's way across the
road. Fearing for the creature's safety, he gently picked
it up, blessed it, and placed it carefully among some bushes
along the roadside. Satisfied that he had honored his commitment,
the acolyte continued on his way, never realizing that the
bushes had recently been covered with insecticide. The caterpillar
died minutes later, cursing the acolyte for returning him to
the death-trap he had tried so hard to flee.

[Ben Trismegistus]

Another good story:

A man hears a knock at his front door. When he opens the door, he finds no one there except a small snail. Thinking that someone is trying to play a joke on him, he gets angry, picks up the snail, and tosses it about 20 feet across his yard.

Six months later, the man hears another knock at the door. When he opens the door, the snail is there again. The snail looks up at the man and says, "HEY! What the hell was that all about?!"

*sorry, couldn't resist*

[Felidae]

Another good story:

A man hears a knock at his front door. When he opens the door, he finds no one there except a small snail. Thinking that someone is trying to play a joke on him, he gets angry, picks up the snail, and tosses it about 20 feet across his yard.

Six months later, the man hears another knock at the door. When he opens the door, the snail is there again. The snail looks up at the man and says, "HEY! What the hell was that all about?!"

*sorry, couldn't resist*

:falloffch

[~ Monk ~]

This reminds me of a Taoist story about a farmer I really like:

There was once a farmer who worked had worked his fields for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "May be," the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "May be," replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. "May be," answered the farmer. The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "Maybe," said the farmer...

[mydemand]

(old post yay! :P)

Heh, my friend protested against that story actually. She was arguing that the death of their cow was of no good to the couple because their main source of incomewas gone, and now they had nothing to live on.

Good luck, like beauty, really is in the eye of the beholder.

B*B, Tiara

[elfmage]

Woah, that is a really great little tale! Thanks for sharing! :D