As a social being, we need others to
be near us, at least, once in a while if not always. We need them with us to
share our joys with, to laugh with us in our happiness, to cavort in the sun in
our abundance, to dance with us in our triumph... We also need friends to lend
us a hand in times of weakness in order to strengthen us to carry on in life’s
journey, to cry on their shoulder when sorrows overwhelm us, and to walk a mile
farther with us when the road gets dark and lonely… Oh, that would be an endless
list on why friends are friends.
Really, it’s hard to find a true friend and it takes time for one to say when a
person has found one. So many circumstances and places, a lot of conditions…
heaven knows what else but people tend to set standards in building friendship.
That old woman I had respected so much, my grandma, once told me, “Real and
lasting friendship, doesn’t have an exact measure for the other nor does it
thrive on abundance and triumph alone, rather it’s there constantly in all
state of affairs as it comes freely and grows in the heart of both. It is not
selfish to seek only for personal growth nor does it count neither the dismal
passing of the time or the extent of distance. Friends do not have to see the
presence of the other always because they trust that the other will be around
in time when the need for the presence of a friend comes.”
Anyway, we have heard of stories about great friendships like that of David and
Jonathan, Damon and Pythias, even that of Ruth and Naomi but I’d like to share
with you my favorite. It has been told to me many times by my late father.
Below is the summary of the story:
The
Selfish Giant
by Oscar Wilde
There was once a lovely
garden with soft green grasses. It was bordered by beautiful flowers and its
orchard grew peach and apple trees that break delicate and fragrant blossoms in
the springtime and bore rich fruits in the autumn. The owner is a big Giant who
went on a long vacation to a friend’s palace – an Ogre living in a faraway
land.
Children come here on their way home from school to play or listen to the
birds… The birds come here to sing their sweet songs as they chase each other
on the branches.
One day the Giant came back. He was so angry when he saw the children in his
garden that he drove them screaming so loud, “My garden is only for me to
enjoy.” The children ran in fear while the Giant put up a wall and a huge
notice board saying, “TRESPASSERS WILL BE PUNISHED.” The people saw it but they
didn’t wonder because they knew that he was a very selfish Giant.
The children didn’t play in the Giant’s garden anymore but they sometimes play
near its walls and talk of their happy times inside it.
Spring came – all over the country the little blossoms broke from the tree
branches and little birds began to sing their songs. Inside the Giant’s garden,
though, it remained winter. The little flowers refused to be aroused from their
long winter sleep and the birds didn’t come to sing anymore. Snow and Frost
were so happy that they have a place to live in all year round. They invited
their great chum, the North Wind to stay there with them and he did. So they
covered the garden of the Selfish Giant with a thick white cloak of snow as the
North Wind roared about it all day. They invited Hail to visit and the friends
enjoyed romping around their new abode, roaring as they go.
The Selfish Giant wondered why Spring never came to his garden, neither did
Summer and Autumn. It was freezing Winter that stayed long in his garden. He
was so alone in the cold and lonely too.
One morning, the Giant lay awake in bed deciding if he was hearing right. He
thought he was dreaming of a lovely, melodious sound, the children’s laughter
and what more? He sniffed again and again and he was sure that it was a
delicious perfume carried by the breeze. Have his trees been touched by Spring?
Full of anticipation, he jumped out of bed and ran to the window. He was eager
to see Spring touch everything in his garden.
His eyes popped at what he saw… the hole in the wall where the children crept;
the children sitting in the branches of his trees; and he can’t believe to see
that in every branch where a child sat, the tree has covered itself with
beautiful blossoms. The tree seemed to wave gaily at the children and the birds
to come closer and have fun. The little flowers that bordered his garden walk
were gladly peeping through the green grass too. They were beaming with pride
in their colorful petals. It was a perfect scene until he noticed that in one
corner of the garden, it was still winter.
The Giant saw a little boy standing under the tree looking up at the branch
which he tried so hard to reach. He was crying bitterly. The Giant’s heart
melted and he realized how selfish he had been. He cried, “Now, I know why
Spring would not visit my garden. I had been so selfish. I will put that poor
boy on top of that tree, and then, I will knock down all the walls so that my
garden shall be the children’s playground forever.
That very morning, the villagers saw the Giant playing with the children in the
most delightful garden full of blossoms that none in the world can compare.
Some saw how the little boy stretched out his arms and flung them around the
Giant’s neck, and kissed him. The little boy taught him the joy of caring and
be accepted by the other.
All day long the children played and they bid the Giant goodbye in the evening
to go home. The Giant sought out the little boy whom he learned to love best
but none of the children knew where he went or where he lived. Every afternoon
thereafter, the Giant played with the children when school was over but he
never saw the little boy again. Everyday too, he would tell the children, “How
I would like to see him… that boy who never showed fear of me because he kissed
me… my first little friend.”
Years went by and the Giant grew so old and weak. He can’t play with the
children anymore but he sat in a big armchair and enjoyed watching them at
their games… He would often whisper, “I have many beautiful flowers but the
children in my trees are the most beautiful flowers of all.”
One winter morning, the Giant saw the most marvellous sight… He saw that the
tree, where he played with the little boy, on the farthest corner of the garden
was covered with lovely white blossoms; the branches have turned golden where
silver fruits hung down from them. His heart jumped when he saw that the little
boy he loved stood beneath it. He was beside himself with great joy.
He hastened to the garden and when he came close to the boy; his face grew red
with anger because he saw that on the palms of his hands were prints of two
nails and the prints of two nails were also on the little feet.
“Who has done this to you?” cried the Giant. “Tell me, that I may take my big
sword and slay him.”
“No,” answered the child. “These are the wounds of Love.”
The Giant was so awed that he fell on his knees to ask, “Who are you?”
The little child smiled and said, “You let me play once in your garden; today
you shall come with me to my garden… which is Paradise.”
That afternoon, when the children came to play, they found their friend, the
Giant, lying under the tree, all covered with the fragrant, white blossoms –
dead.
End of the story.
In this present time of the internet generation where human interaction is not
given so much quality time, where friends and pets can be had in the virtual
world without worry of personal adjustments and material cost… it will take a
lot of painful efforts to be ‘a friend’ and no doubt, it will take more time to
look for the ‘real friend.’
What do you think?
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(note: this is lifted from wvtrivia.blogspot.com ... am sharing this to be enjoyed by the manulali readers too.)
