Have you
ever wondered, how it is, that when some people are placed in what can only be
described as an impossible situation, they manage to bring forth a viable
solution? To demonstrate this point, allow me to share the Tale Of The Two
Pebbles.
Many years
ago a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village
moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s
beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo
the farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter. However both the farmer
and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning
moneylender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.
He told
them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money
bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag. If
she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt
would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble, she need not marry him and
her father’s debt would still be forgiven. If she refused to pick a pebble, her
father would be thrown into jail. They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in
the farmer’s field.
As they
talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked
them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles
and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the
bag. The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble.
Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path
where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.
‘Oh, how clumsy of me,’ she said. ‘But never mind. If you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.’ Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
‘Oh, how clumsy of me,’ she said. ‘But never mind. If you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.’ Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
Positive Actions Can Change Negative Thoughts
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