The Good Pirate

Not only was Longhands a young pirate boy, he was also the son of a pirate, the grandson of a pirate, and the great grandson of a pirate. Actually, he hadn't yet stolen anything, nor attacked any ship; but his whole family were sure that he'd turn out to be a first class pirate.


Even so, the idea of spending his life robbing people certainly didn't appeal to young Longhands. He knew this because when he was a toddler, one of his cousins had pinched one of his favourite toys, which made Longhands really suffer.

While he was growing up, Longhands' good nature meant that he worried terribly that some day his real pirate personality would suddenly emerge, and send him down the path of robbing, raiding, and pillaging. Every morning, when he woke up, he looked in the mirror to see if the horrible transformation had yet occurred. But every morning he had the same pleasant sort of face he had had the day before.

As time went on, it became obvious to everyone that Longhands wasn't a pirate; but the family tradition was so long and so wonderfully infamous that no one was bold enough to come out and say it.

"It's just that he's a good pirate," they would say. And they would have kept saying it even if Longhands had studied medicine and dedicated his life to caring for the sick. However, Longhands was still worried about turning into a pirate, and he continued consulting the mirror each morning.

One day, though, seeing that he was now an old man, and having seen his children and grandchildren - none of whom had become pirates - he realised that neither himself, nor anyone, was ever forced to be a pirate, whether from natural forces or from duty. Everyone could do whatever they chose with their lives!

And, having chosen his own life and his own path, Longhands felt deeply happy that he never chose to be a pirate.

No one is predestined to do anything. It’s in our own hands to change our lives, from day to day

A Village on the Road

In a land far away, once upon a time there was great poverty: only the rich could manage without great problems. Three of those rich men, and their servants, were traveling on the same road, in a convoy, when they came to a very poor village. Seeing this poverty provoked different reactions in all three rich men.


The first couldn't stand to see it, so he took all the gold and jewels from his wagons and shared them out among the villagers. He wished them all the best of luck, and he left.

The second rich man, seeing the desperate situation, stopped for a short time, and gave the villagers all his food and drink, since he could see that money would be of little use to them. He made sure that each villager received their fair share and would have enough food to last for some time. Then, he left.

The third rich man, on seeing such poverty, speeded up and traveled straight through the village without stopping. The two other rich men saw this from a distance, and commented with each other how the third rich man lacked decency and compassion. It was good that they had been there to help the poor villagers...

However, three days later, they met the third rich man who was traveling in the opposite direction. He was still traveling quickly, but his wagons, instead of the gold and valuables they had been carrying, were now full of farming implements, tools, and sacks of seeds and grain. He was heading to the poor village to help them out of poverty.

This happened a long, long time ago, but we can see the very same thing happening today too. There are some generous people who give only so that people can see how much they are giving. They don't want to know anything about the people they are giving to.

Other generous people really try to help others, but only so that they can feel better about themselves.

But there are other generous people: the best kind. To them it doesn't matter what the other kinds of generous people think of them. Nor do they give in a showy way. Instead, they truly worry about how best to improve the lives of those they are helping. They give greatly of something much more valuable than money. They give their time, their vision and their lives.

We still have time to change to this third, and best, group!


The best kindness is to give our time and sincere best wishes to people, regardless of whether they can give us anything in return