Summary
Summary:
Flora comforts Farabi by sharing a story about two friends who quarreled while walking in the desert. One friend slapped the other, who then wrote in the sand about the incident. Later, when the slapped friend got stuck in quicksand, his friend saved him. The saved friend then wrote on a stone about the rescue. When asked about the difference in his reactions, he explained that we should write hurts in sand so the wind can erase them, while good deeds should be engraved in stone to remember them. The moral of the story is to forget the hurts but remember good deeds. Flora then prompts a discussion on why forgiveness is important.
- Meanings of Key Terms:
- hurt - got physical pain when someone hits you or you fall
- oasis - an area in a desert where there are water, plants, etc.
- quicksand - deep wet sand that works like a trap. If you walk on it, you will sink into it.
- erase - remove something completely
- engrave - cut words or designs on stone or wood
Key word: slap oasis quicksand erase engrave
A Read what Flora said to Farabi and then read the story.
Don't be sad, Farabi, and don't think seriously about what your friend Harun did. ……. I know a story about friends. Listen."
Two friends were walking through a desert. After a while they had a quarrel, and one friend slapped the other. The friend who got slapped was hurt. But without saying anything he wrote in the sand:
Today my best friend slapped me in the face.
They kept walking until they found an oasis. There they decided to take a bath. The one who was slapped before got stuck in the quicksand and started going down. But his friend saved him. After he was saved he wrote on a stone:
Today my best friend saved my life.
The friend who slapped and saved his best friend asked, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a stone. Why?"
The other friend replied, "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in the sand. The wind can erase it away. But when someone does something good for us, we should engrave it on stone, so no wind can erase it."
"Do you know the moral of the story?" Flora asked.
Farabi nodded and smiled, "Yes, we should forget our hurts, but remember our good deeds forever."
B Match the words/phrases with their meanings.
| Words/Phrases | Meanings |
1 hurt 2 oasis 3 quicksand 4 erase 5 engrave | a an area in a desert where there are water, plants, etc. b remove something completely c cut words or designs on stone or wood d got physical pain when someone hits you or you fall e deep wet sand that works like a trap. If you walk on it, you will sink into it. |
C Discuss in groups and write an answer to this question:
Why should we forgive those who hurt us?
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