Father's Day Fairy Tale

When I was little I loved Grimm's Fairy Tales. I always liked how there were two brothers, one handsome, one homely. Or a king with two daughters, one smart, one beautiful. I always wanted to be the smart one. The beautiful ones ended up dying at the hand of a troll or wicked hag.

I didn't understand when I was young that these fairy tales always had a moral. They weren't as obvious as Aesop's lessons and I mostly liked them for the imagery. Even if it's hokey, I'd like to have a go at writing my own fairy tale (I mean, it won't be Beedle the Bard or anything, but it will scratch an itch).

So.

There were once two brothers who liked to complain. The older  brother complained that the king's taxes were too high and he couldn't afford all the luxuries he wanted despite working hard for them. The second, younger brother moaned about life not being exciting enough, boredom and the sad lack of things to do to keep him happy.

The two brothers were walking on the outskirts of town one day, chatting about the miserable state of the kingdom. They came upon a fallen tree, and the tree spoke to them. 

"What have you to complain about?" demanded the tree.

The brothers were taken aback. 

"We have the right to complain," shouted the older brother at the tree, shaking his fist at the splay of branches spread across the path. "The king keeps too much of our wages, he shares too much with the poor, they should have to work as hard as we do!"

"There's nothing to DO in this town," cried the younger brother, sitting down next to the tree and picking at it's dying trunk. "What joy does life bring me these days? I have nothing or no one to keep me occupied!"

The tree creaked and moaned softly as it neared the end of it's life and told the two brothers this:

"I will grant you each one wish. One temporary wish. It will last for ten days. You may wish for whatever you please but be warned, ten days only. After the ten days are up, whatever you wished for will be gone, as well as anything you accumulated directly because of the wish. You will still have your memories of these ten days after they have expired, but that is all that will remain of the wish."

The two brothers were ecstatic. Only a moment passed when the older brother spoke. This brother was quick to act before thinking and regarded only the here and now.

"Riches. I want unlimited riches for ten days," he told the tree. 

"And so it shall be," the tree said to him and the older brother ran off, back toward the town.

The younger brother took much longer to decide. Despite his many complaints, the younger brother was a thoughtful man, not prone to rash decisions.  

"I'd like to have a debilitating affliction," he told the tree confidently. 

"And so it shall be," said the tree and the younger brother became blind and simple minded. 

The next ten days passed extremely well for the older brother. He spent all of his time having adventures with friends, passing the time with women, eating feasts and acquiring fine clothes and jewels. He drank spirits, made bets and slept in a bed with sheets made of the finest materials. He felt that this time was the best of his life.

The younger brother unfortunately did not have such luck. He was quite miserable for ten days. Not being able to see took a heavy toll on him but being simple minded got him into the most trouble. He injured himself constantly bumping into things, falling into the river, running into people. He was accosted by a pair of young boys who started out ridiculing him and ended up throwing rocks at him until he was unconscious. He spent a great deal of his ten days in anguish. Physical pain, frustration and hurt were ever present for the younger brother. 

As the final hour of the tenth day approached, the older brother sought out the younger brother. He had not concerned himself with his brother for ten days, and did not even know what he wished for. He found the younger brother asleep behind the tavern, bleeding and hungry. 

The older brother helped the younger brother up, cursing him for being so stupid and they traveled together back to the outskirts of town to find the tree. 

Just as they reached the tree, the final minute of the ten days ticked away. The older brother was left nearly naked, as most of his clothes were new and had been purchased with wish money. The younger brother's sight was restored and his mind returned to normal. 

The older brother strode up to the tree, shaking his fist. 

"Where are my clothes?" He demanded.

"I warned you this was temporary. Your ten days are over. What are you left with?" the tree said slowly, as he was even closer to expiring than when the brothers first met him.

The older brother made a rude gesture at the tree and turned back toward town.

The tree sighed heavily and asked the younger brother, "And you? What are you left with?"

The younger brother knelt down next to the dying tree, touched his fingers to the rough bark, a tear in his eye. He thanked the tree and told him, "Appreciation."

As years went by, the older brother only got angrier and more bitter. He tried to work even harder than before to duplicate the riches he had during his ten days, but it was never enough. It never made him happy and he spent the rest of his days cursing the tree, the king, the whole world.

The younger brother lived out his life in a state of graciousness. He marveled at sunsets, took joy in the sound of rain falling on leaves and was kind to everyone, especially those with a simple mind. Anytime something was bad or wrong, he found the good in it, appreciated that it wasn't as bad as it could have been and always found a reason to be grateful. 

The End.

And the moral of MY fairy tale is this: Without having to suffer anything debilitating, THIS is what I've learned from my dad. Be grateful. Enjoy the little things. It could always be worse. See the beauty in everything. Love you Dad!!