An old Grandfather and His Little grandson

Sham S. Misri

A grandfather had become very old. He was frail and weak. His legs would not carry him, his eyes could not see, his ears could not hear, and he was toothless. When he ate, bits of food sometimes dropped out of his mouth.

The daughter-in-law got tired of the mess he would make at the table. So, one evening she told her husband, “How long have I to bear this torture of picking up the bits of food that your father leaves on the table here and there?”

Next day his son and his son’s wife no longer allowed him to eat with them at the table. They made him to sit far behind near the stove. The poor grandfather had to eat his meals in a corner near the stove.

One day they gave him his food in a bowl. He tried to move the bowl closer; it fell to the ground and broke. His daughter in law scolded him. She told him that he spoiled everything in the house and broke their dishes.

The next day they gave him tea in a cup. The old grandfather was thinking in the heart of his hearts about how much care he used to take when his son was a child and how much caring he had been. Engrossed in this thought and sipping tea he fumbled with the cup and broke it, making a mess. The daughter-in-law began grumbling about that and then she said that from now on he would get his food in a wooden dish. The old man sighed and said nothing. He was cursing himself and his old age.  

A few days later, the old man’s son and his wife were sitting in their hut. They were resting and watching their little baby playing on the floor. They saw him putting together something out of small pieces of wood. His father asked him, “What are you making dear jolly?”

The little grandson said, “I am making a wooden wash pan. When you and Mamma get old, I’ll feed you out of this wooden dish.”

The young peasant and his wife looked at each other, and tears filled their eyes. The daughter-in-law and son began to cry and held their heads in shame. They were ashamed because they had treated the old grandfather so meanly. From then on they set a place at the table for the old man, and the daughter-in-law no longer grumbled as she had about the messes the old grandfather made. From that day they took better care of him.