At the beginning of the twentieth century, a Scottish farmer was returning home and passed by a marshy area. Suddenly he heard cries for help. The farmer rushed to help and saw a boy who was being sucked into its terrible abysses by the swamp slurry. The boy tried to climb out of the terrible mass of the swamp, but his every movement condemned him to quick death. The boy screamed in despair and fear. The farmer quickly cut down a thick branch, carefully approached and extended a saving branch to the drowning man. The boy got out to safety. He trembled, he could not stop crying for a long time, but the main thing was that he was saved!
“Let’s go to my house,” the farmer suggested to him. “You need to calm down, dry out and warm up.”
“No, no,” the boy shook his head, “my dad is waiting for me.” He's probably very worried.
Looking gratefully into the eyes of his savior, the boy ran away...
In the morning, the farmer saw a rich carriage pulled by luxurious thoroughbred horses drive up to his house. A richly dressed gentleman came out of the carriage and asked:
“Were you the one who saved my son’s life yesterday?”
“Yes, I am,” answered the farmer.
- How much do I owe you?
- Don't offend me, sir. You don't owe me anything because I did what a normal person should have done.
- No, I can’t just leave it like that, because my son is very dear to me. Name any amount,” the visitor insisted.
“I don’t want to say anything more on this topic.” Goodbye. — The farmer turned to leave. And then his son jumped out onto the porch.
- Is this your son? - asked the rich guest.
“Yes,” the farmer answered proudly, patting the boy on the head.
- Let's do this. I will take your son with me to London and pay for his education. If he is as noble as his father, then neither you nor I will regret this decision.
Several years have passed. The farmer's son graduated from school, then from medical university, and soon his name became world famous as the name of the man who discovered penicillin. His name was Alexander Flemming.
Just before the war, the son of that same gentleman was admitted to one of the wealthy London clinics with a severe form of pneumonia. What do you think saved his life this time? - Yes, penicillin, discovered by Alexander Flemming.
The name of the wealthy gentleman who educated Flemming was Randolph Churchill. And his son's name was Winston Churchill, who later became Prime Minister of England.
Winston Churchill once said: “What you do will come back to you.”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru