The Chore

The Chore

There was a young girl whose job it was to fetch water from the river bank every morning. This is the only way her family would have water to drink and be able to feed the livestock. The trek to the river was a long one and it felt even longer as she lugged the heavy buckets full of water back to her home. She would complain endlessly about having to do this chore to her mother who would simply reply "It takes a strong mind to find the positive in something that is mostly negative. You are not of a strong mind yet. When you are, that is when we will find you another chore to do... now go and get some water."

For months the girl performed this task, each time complaining about how hard and boring it was. And for months her mother would say the same thing "It takes a strong mind to find the positive in something that is mostly negative. You are not of a strong mind yet. When you are, that is when we will find you another chore to do...now go and get some water"

One morning as she was collecting her water from the river, she spotted a dragonfly trapped in a spiders web. She set down the buckets and plucked a reed from the river's edge, using it to carefully free the dragonfly from the sticky mess. The dragonfly sat on the palm of her hand while she continued to clean it's wings, patiently waiting for her to be done. The moment she was done and the little creature was able to.. it bowed it's head in thanks and flew away into the distance, leaving her to watch as it's beautiful colors faded from her sight.

The next morning she hastily got dressed and ran to get the buckets. Skipping all the way to the river, in hopes she would see the little blue dragonfly again. For some reason, it didn't seem to take her as long as it had all the times before. She stepped onto the river's edge and looked around to see if the dragonfly was there. A huge smile crossed her face as she saw it skimming the surface of the water. Leaning down at the edge, she reached out her hand to see if it would come to her. After a few minutes, it did.. sitting on her hand as she slowly brought it closer to her face. It stayed there for a few minutes before it again bowed it's head and took it's leave.


Every day from then on, the young girl couldn't wait for the morning to come so she could go fetch water. Each morning the dragonfly would be waiting for her and each morning it would sit in her hand for a few minutes before it flew off down the river. She stopped complaining to her mom about how hard and boring it was and never had to be told to do the chore again. After a time, her mother stopped her while she was retrieving the buckets and said "you have obtained a strong mind, so now there is no reason for you to go and get water. We will find you a new chore to do after today."

The girl looked at her mother in disbelief. She didn't understand why her mother would take something she found so much joy in away from her. Then it hit her, the chore she used to do was no longer a chore, it had become fun. She had stopped complaining and found something of value in doing it. After a few minutes of silence, the girl looks up at her mother and says " I would be more than happy to take on a new chore for you, Mother. But I would also like to keep getting the water if I could. For it has become more than a chore for me, it has become something I enjoy doing."

Thanks,
blend57

a reply to: blend57

Nice story.
Good lesson.
Trying to find something positive and beautiful to keep us going strong through the hard times?

Something that can make what seems like an endless painful journey a little less painful.
Perhaps make the years go by a little more quickly in our mind.

a reply to: blend57

Great story and lesson! 👍