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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. This had been so since their childhood. When they were young, Chun and Pak recieved a few coins from their grandmother as New Year's gifts. When a travelling peddler visited their parents' farm, both boys ran out to buy something with their coins. Chun bought a spinning top and a string to spin it with. Pak bought a packet of sweet melon seeds and asked his father for a bit of garden of his own to plant them in. "Will you help me dig the soil for my seeds?" Pak asked his brother. But Chun was too busy playing with his spinning top, and told Pak to go dig in the dirt himself. So Pak dug up the soil, and prepared it, and planted his sweet melon seeds. Soon, the seeds sprouted and began to grow into melon plants. "Will you help me carry water for my plants?" Pak asked his brother. Again, Chun was too busy playing with his spinning top, and he told Pak to carry his own water. So Pak carried buckets of water from the river and watered his little melon plants. Bugs found the plants, of course, and weeds grew in the fertile soil. "Will you help me pull the weeds and pick the bugs off my plants?" Pak asked his brother. But once again, Chun was too busy playing with his spinning top, and he told Pak to tend his plants himself. So Pak worked hard to pull out every weed and crush every bug. Eventually, the melons ripened. One afternoon Pak walked into the house with a sweet, juicy melon, perfectly ripe. "I will help you eat that melon!" Chun said to his brother. "You did not help plant the seeds," Pak said. "You did not help water them, nor did you help weed them. When I asked for help, you were busy playing with your toy spinning top." And Pak ate the melon all by himself. |