30/07/2023
THE BOY IN RAGS
A Touching Story With Morals.
A wealthy father and his son went shopping in an expensive shopping mall. On their way back to their car, a poor boy approached them. He cried.
"Please help me sir! I don't have any more clothes to wear"
The rich father threw a glance at the poor boy and felt compassion for him. His clothes were ripped and shredded.
"How old are you, little boy?" he asked him.
"I'm ten, sir" he responded.
Then the rich father said.
"Well, my son is ten too, and I presume that his new clothes would fit you"
The father turned to his posh-looking son.
"Jeff, don't you think it would be generous of you to spare some of your new clothes we have bought? We could still come shopping tomorrow"
The boy whispered.
"It's fine, dad"
The rich father then opened their shopping bag and took out few clothes which he handed to the poor boy. His face lit up in excitement.
The father then inquired.
"May I know where you live?"
The poor boy replied.
"I live under the bridge, right down the street"
He expressed deep gratitude, and watched the father and his son as they walked into their car and drove away.
Three months later, the rich father drove down the street, looking for the poor boy under the bridge. When he found him, he took him to the car and brought out boxes of clothes, shoes, bags and toys. He said.
"They're my son's belongings but I'm giving them all to you now"
The poor boy was surprised and couldn't stop crying. He said.
"But how about your son? Wouldn't he need these any longer?"
The rich father uttered.
"No, because he is in heaven now. My sweet little boy died some weeks ago of terminal cancer. He had lived with cancer for three years, and we had known all along that he was going to die, so it was emotionally very difficult to watch him enter the final days of life. Do you know that on his deathbed, Jeff said to me 'daddy when I'm finally gone, could you give all my belongings to the poor boy we met outside the mall, the boy who has nothing, wears rags and sleeps under the bridge"
The father paused for a moment, with tears in his eyes, he concluded.
"You may be poor, but you have no idea how blessed you are to have life, something that money cannot buy. I could have bought a hundred lives for my son if it was possible, but no. You may have envied my son's lifestyle, but I'm sure you didn't know about all his struggles and health challenges. That's how life is. We often compare our lives to others, forgetting that life doesn't come with perfection, reason why everyone goes through difficult times. So, instead of envying others, we should focus on watering our own grass and building our own path, for as long as there is life, hope follows. And always remember the story of the poor boy who didn't have clothes to wear, but was gifted clothes by a rich boy who didn't have life ahead of him.
Author: Chima_Dickson Official
