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In the time of my father's father, there were two brothers named Chun and Pak. Their farms were side by side, Chun's farm to the north and Pak's farm to the south. Chun and Pak were much alike in learning and in wealth, but in one way they were very different: They never agreed on the best way to do things. Each farm had a house for the brother's family, two barns to house the animals, fields of crops, and a few cows. One spring day there was a great windstorm in the district. Many buildings were damaged, including the roof of one of each brother's barn. The next morning both brothers looked at the damage and decided what they would do. "I must repair my barn roof straightaway," said Pak. He got out his tools, and brought straw for thatching, and repaired the roof of his barn so it was as sound as the other. "I will not waste my time on something that is damaged," said Chun. "I will tend to the good barn." He planted bright flowers around the undamaged barn, and in time the damaged roof fell in and the barn became useless. Some time later, a disease of cattle afflicted the district. One of Pak's cows became ill, and likewise one of Chun's cows became ill. The two brothers examined their sick cows and decided what they should do. "I must tend to my sick cow," said Pak. "She will give no milk until she gets better." He sent for the healer, and gave the sick cow healing herbs and hot grain mashes to keep up her strength. Pak carefully tended his cow until she recovered. "I will not waste my time on a sick cow," said Chun. "Is not my healthy cow more important?" He brushed her coat until it shone, and polished her horns. Meanwhile the sick cow grew sicker and eventually died. Finally there came a drought in the district. Each farm had a field along the river and one on higher ground. In both farms, the crops in the field near the river thrived, but the crops in the higher field began to die for lack of water. Once again, the brothers decided what they should do. "I have a field full of fine, tall crops," said Chun. "They are what is important." Chun tended to his lower field while the upper one dried up and died. "I have crops dying for lack of water," said Pak. Each day, he hauled water from the river to water the crops in his dry field until the rains came again. Then at harvest time, Pak and Chun took stock of their success for the year. Pak's farm flourished, with its sturdy barns, healthy cows, and two fields of crops ready to harvest. Chun, on his farm, looked around at his ruined barn, his field of withered crops, and the bleached bones of his dead cow. "But I took care of my sound barn, my healthy cow, and my well-watered field," he said. "I took care of the important things. What went wrong?" |