Many years ago, two priests were travelling on foot through the mountains of Spain. They arrived at a river where there was no bridge, only a ford, and found a pretty girl standing by the riverside, wondering how she was going to get across, because the water was fast and the current strong.
Frey Juan took pity on her and offered to carry her on his back and she accepted. He was a tall, stout man and he easily made it across, whereas the girl would probably have lost her footing and gotten drenched or perhaps even drowned. On the opposite bank, she thanked him gratefully and went on her way.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Frey Esteban began to berate Frey Juan. “Shame on you! A man of God, behaving in such a shocking and indecent way!” And Frey Esteban continued to scold Frey Juan for quite some time.
Finally Frey Juan turned to him. “Brother, I’m sorry that you are having to bear such a heavy burden,” he said gently.
“What are you talking about?” asked the astonished Frey Esteban.
“The girl. I put her down six miles back, but you are still carrying her.”
2 comments:
I love this story! A grudge is truly the heaviest thing in the world to carry.
Good story! I need to remember this both as a story and reminder to let things go.
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