A Fable.

[Tracker]

Two brothers who had adjoining farms fell out with each other and although it was their first serious rift in over forty years of farming together neither could quite recall how it happened.

 

It began with a small misunderstanding years ago which grew into a major difference that finally exploded to an exchange of bitter words followed by months of brooding silence.

 

One morning there was a knock at one of the brother's door and there stood a man with a carpenters tool bag in his hand. "I'm looking for a few day's work", said the chippy, "might you have any small jobs around the farm that need the attention of a skilled carpenter?"

 

"Yes indeed", said the farmer, "you're just the man I need and I do have an important job for you".

 

"Look across the river to that other farm, last week there was a meadow between us but he took his digger and dug that river between us. Well I'm going to go one better - see that pile of timber and planks - that is for the fence that I want you to build so that I don't have to look out on that wretched river and my brother's farm"

 

The farmer had to go to market so he left the carpenter to it and his eyes bulged when he returned at the end of the day and his jaw dropped when he saw the chippy's handiwork.

 

There was no fence at all but a super new bridge, complete with handrails, stretching from one side of the river to the other.

 

As he stopped and looked he noticed his brother coming towards him over the bridge with his arms outstretched.

 

"You're quite the guy" said the second brother, "After all that I have said and done, you do this for us"

 

So the two bothers met in the middle of the bridge, warmly shook each other's hand, and vowed never to fall out again.

 

They turned just in time to see the carpenter smile as he was leaving and they called out to him to stay for a while as they had plenty more projects between them in need of a skilled chippy.

 

"I would really love to stay," said the chippy, "but I have so many more bridges to build".

 

The moral of the story is of course,

 

It is better to build bridges than it is to build fences.