For a debt of seven pennies
The grandfather looked around and found himself sitting among several tombs. (Image courtesy laura padgett/Flickr)
Welcome back to the SOH Radio Network the home of Ancient Tales of Wisdom. Hello everyone, I’m Grace Mann, and it is my privilege to bring you the following factual story as told by a grandson of his grandfather’s experience. This story is titled: For a Debt of Seven Pennies.
The author’s grandfather was a famous doctor in his hometown. One night, after receiving an urgent call from a villager, he took a ferry to see the patient. Because he arrived very early in the morning and did not want to bother the patient’s family, he decided to wait until a more reasonable hour before knocking at the door. In the darkness, he settled himself on the bank beside the river to take a nap. While resting, he overheard a conversation between two children.
“Come on, forget about the debt. She’s your mother anyway.”
“No way, debt between blood kin is also debt. She owes me, and she has to pay back every penny.”
“How much does she owe you?”
“Seven pennies!”
“How are you going to get it back?”
“I have my way. Just watch!”
The grandfather suddenly woke up and realized he had been napping, yet the conversation between the two children had seemed so real. He looked around and saw that there were no villages or inns nearby. Where had the two children’s voices come from? He was confused. He looked around and found himself sitting among several tombs. There was one nearby which was very new. The dirt was wet and still fresh.
At that moment he was scared. At dawn, he saw a young woman approaching. She wore a pretty scarf on her head and a beautiful apron printed with blue flowers, and she carried a basket. When she walked closer, he saw she had a small white flower in her hair and she looked deeply grieved. She went to the new tomb, lit some candles and incense, and took out some rice and some small dishes. While crying, she said, “My son, you died so young. Do you know how much I miss you when I see other children? My son, I am so miserable. Please answer if you can hear me….”
Hearing her weeping, the doctor was deeply touched by the sorrow of this young mother who had lost her young son.
All of a sudden, the young woman’s apron caught fire from the candle. By the time she had extinguished the fire her beautiful apron was burned on one corner. She cried, “I just bought this apron yesterday for seven pennies.”
The doctor’s eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open in shock. He then realized his experience and that her son had gotten back the seven pennies that she owed him.
Now, for an update on our ATW Premium Gold Pass podcast release. We are on track with this initiative and with things flowing as they are now, we trust that our launch date will be around mid March, just some four weeks away.
SOH is proud to bring this proposal to you all. By becoming a valued ATW Gold Pass subscriber, not only will you regularly receive our fabulous stories, but also, your very affordable membership fee will 100% support SOH’s continued growth in becoming a stable major contributor to our world societies.
Please also tell your family, friends and work colleagues about the ATW Premium Gold Pass. And, stay turned to Ancient Tales Wisdom for the how and when to sign up for this great opportunity.
Before signing off for today, let’s listen to the Quote of the Day from an inspired audience member at the final Los Angeles Shen Yun Performing Arts show. [audio]
Until next we meet, laugh lots, be happy, while always remembering we all must pay for what we owe.
Thank you for being with us again on the SOH Radio Network for Ancient Tales Wisdom. I look forward to being with you all again real soon.
Story Source: PureInsight.org
(with slight modification)
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2003/2/3/20309.html
February 21st, 2010
this story is nice
grace