One old man came to live with his son, daughter-in-law and four-year-old grandson. His hands trembled, his eyes had difficulty seeing, his gait was hobbling. The family ate together at the same table, but grandfather's old, shaking hands and poor eyesight made this difficult. Peas fell from the spoon onto the floor when he held the glass in his hands, milk spilled onto the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became increasingly irritated by this.
“We have to do something,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of the way he eats noisily, the milk he spills, and the food scattered on the floor.”
The husband and wife decided to put a separate small table in the corner of the room. There, the grandfather began to eat alone, while the rest of the family enjoyed lunch. After grandfather broke the plates twice, he was served food in a wooden bowl. When one of the family caught a glimpse of grandpa, sometimes he would have tears in his eyes because he was all alone. From then on, the only words he heard addressed to him were caustic remarks when he dropped his fork or spilled food.
The four-year-old boy watched everything in silence. One evening, before dinner, his father noticed him playing with a piece of wood on the floor. He gently asked the baby:
-What do you do?
The boy answered just as trustingly:
“I’m making a small bowl for you and mom that you will eat from when I grow up.”
The boy smiled and continued working. These words stunned the parents so much that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their faces. And although not a single word was spoken, both knew what had to be done.
That evening, the husband walked up to grandfather, took him by the hand, and gently led him back to the family table. During the remaining days he ate with his family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife worried anymore when a fork fell, milk spilled, or the tablecloth got dirty.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru