The Old Man and His Grandson
Once upon a time, there was a significantly older man. His eyes were blurred, his ears were deaf, and his knees shook. When sitting at the table, he could barely hold a spoon, spilling the broth on the tablecloth or letting the water drip down out of his mouth. His son and his son’s wife were disgusted with this, so in the end, the grandfather had to sit in the corner behind the stove. They fed him in an earthenware bowl, which wasn’t even enough. And he often looked towards the table with teary eyes. There was also a time when his trembling hands could not hold the bowl. The bowl fell to the ground and broke. The young wife scolded him, but he didn’t say anything but just sighed. Then they brought him a wooden bowl for half a penny, and he had to eat from it.
Once, while sitting like that, their four-year-old grandson started gathering wood on the ground. ‘What are you doing there?’ the father asked. “I’m making a little trough,” the child replied, “for you and Mom to eat when I grow up.”
The man and his wife looked at each other momentarily and then began to cry. After that, they invited the older man to the table and, from then on, always let him eat with them and did not say anything if he spilt something.
