Many many years ago, there lived a dog named Tom. Tom was adopted as a pet in a wealthy household and he was daily showered with nice foods and affections by her mistress Mrs Havisham. All day, Tom lived in a kennel within the compound of the house and he tried his best to guard the home of his mistress. Whenever a thief or a burgler came within the vicinity, Tom would bark as loudly as he could to scare the living daylights out of the culprit. He was the favourite of his mistress. When night fell, he slept on a nice blanket inside his kennel and when day broke he had his food served before him in no time.
But the neighbourhood dogs were not so lucky and they were jealous of Tom's fortune. Now and then, they would bark from outside the gates of Tom's house and utter curses at him. All this disturbed Tom a little, but he would only say,
"Poor fellows, they have to struggle so much for their food while I am so lucky. I must not shout at them and add to their misery."
So he kept quiet and went about his business, turning a deaf ear to their insults.
One day, as he was taking a walk with his mistress, Tom found that some young boys were throwing stones at those same dogs who insulted him. The dogs were cornered and they had nowhere to go. They could in no way avoid being hit by the stones thrown at them. Many of them were bleeding and barking feebly in protest. But the boys were not in a mood to let go of them so lightly. They picked up bigger stones and rocks to have more fun at the expense of the weak, helpless dogs.
Tom could not hold himself back. He was of a strong build and had a very deep voice. He knew that he could scare the boys. He managed to wrench his leash free out of his mistress' hands and he ran towards the boys.
The boys were startled at the terrible barking that Tom directed at them. Their blood froze at the sight of the huge Tom baring his fangs and running towards them. They dropped their rocks and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them.
"Go home" Tom said to his bloodied abusers "no one will disturb you anymore."
He ran back to his mistress who had seen all that Tom did. She patted Tom and praised him for his courage.
That night, Tom's mistress saw a strange sight. The dogs whom Tom had saved in the morning had gathered near the gates of her house. It seemed to her as if they were telling something to her pet.
"Maybe they are thanking Tom for his brave gesture." she thought.
And right she was! From that day, Tom and his abusers had become friends. Tom's kindness had won over his abusers' hatred and he had earned their love, respect and admiration that nothing on earth could buy.
Be good to all, even if they happen to be your enemies.
Then the old man asked his eldest son to untie the bundle. This was done. He then gave one stick to each of his sons and said, ‘Try to break your sticks.’ Now they broke their sticks very easily.
