28th Feb 2012 The Farming Brothers - A Story

In days gone by, two brothers, Raul and Johan, who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 35 years of farming side-by-side in central Germany, sharing machinery, and trading labour and goods as needed without a single problem occurring.

However, one autumn, the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence between the two brothers.

One morning there was a knock on Raul's door. He opened it to find a man holding a carpenter's toolbox. 'I'm looking for a few days work,' Angelis said. 'Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?'

'Yes,' answered Raul, extremely pleased to see Angelis the carpenter, 'I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbour, in fact, it's my younger brother, Johan's farm. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll go him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence; an 8-foot fence, so I won't need to see Johan's place nor his face any more.'

Angelis the carpenter said thoughtfully, 'I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you.'

Raul had to go to the nearby town, Erfurt, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing, and hammering.

About sunset when Raul returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge: a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other. A fine piece of work handrails and all, and the neighbour, his younger brother Johan, was coming across, his hand outstretched. 'You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done.', Johan smiled.

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder. 'No, wait. Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you,' called Raul.

'I'd love to stay on,' Angelis murmured quietly, 'but, I have many more bridges to build.'

Tags: bridge, brothers

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28th Feb 2012 Pink Elephant

Seeing Pink Elephants

If a friend tells you he is "seeing pink elephants", then this is serious. What it means is, he is suffering delirium trembles. The condition and the accompanying hallucinations are caused by alcohol poisoning. Up till recently, most people think 'pink elephant' meant something not needed nor wanted, like a gift you don't know what to do with. 

 

Baby Pink Elephant

Cameraman Mike Holding had definitely not been drinking when he captured these photos of a pink elephant in northern Botswana, Africa. Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants. While albinism is thought to be fairly common in Asian elephants, it is much less common in the larger African species. 

 

Here we see the baby pink elephant attempting to shelter under its mother because surviving is very difficult in the harsh African bush as the glaring sun may cause blindness and skin problems.

Rare baby pink elephant in the photo is mighty cute isn't he? incidentally, his brother looks like Dumbo!

Tags: pinkelephant

Prev: 28th Feb 2012 A Farmer's Wise Donkey
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28th Feb 2012 A Farmer's Wise Donkey

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out a way to get him out. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn't worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbours to come over and help him cover up the well. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well. 

At first, when the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down and let out some happy brays. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well to see what was happening and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was shaking it off and taking a step up. 

As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, to everyone's amazement, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off. 

I think that the moral of this tale is: Life is going to shovel dirt on you. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Through applying wisdom every adversity can be turned into a stepping stone. The way to get out of the deepest well is by never giving up but by shaking yourself off and taking a step up.

What happens to you isn't nearly as important as how you react to it. And, as after thought, what idiot invented the stupid term of 'Dumb Ass'?

 

Tags: well, donkey

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