17.2.2021
The first story.
There was once a kingdom. The king was righteous and wisely led his country. There were two great cities in the kingdom, faithful and devoted to their ruler, but over time, sin began to spread in them. People stopped respecting the rules he set for a peaceful and joyful life. Fornication, theft, robbery and murder became a great part of their daily lives. The city administration has set its own rules so that the inhabitants of the city are not restricted in anything. The king saw that it was wrong, so he sent his messengers to them to return to the life they had led before, but his efforts were in vain. The messengers were either ridiculed or beaten and thrown out. They sent ridiculous and blasphemous messages to the king. But the cup of his patience flowed. He became angry and sent his army to the cities. He surrounded the cities so that no one could flee and urged them to give up so he could establish order in them. The leadership of the first city opposed him, aroused the citizens, and of all the combat-ready men they also built their army. „No one will tell us how to live here. We will do what we want, we, our dear king, no longer need you.” They opened the gates and launched an attack. The king had a very strong army, so he defeated them without any problems and destroyed the whole city. He wasn’t happy about it, but there was no other solution.
The city administration of the other city behaved differently. There were people living in it who were unhappy about how people lived there and how sin controlled its inhabitants. They began to pray for the conversion of its lost inhabitants and sent their messengers to him so that he would be merciful to them and forgive them for their unreasonable actions. They opened the city gates and welcomed him. They thanked him for opening their eyes and started living a reorganized life, according to the rules set by the Lord. Peace and love reigned in the city, and he rewarded them with all the wealth of the ruined city.
The second story.
There was once a man who decided to be rich so that he could enjoy his life in peace. He subjected everything to it, no regard for anything and anyone. He prospered and his wealth grew comfortably. He also raised his two sons in this spirit. His wife left him because she could not live with such a dictator and egoist. When he got older and weaker, he was no longer able to take care of himself. Therefore, he sold all his real estate, bought valuables for it and, together with a large amount of money, deposited it in a beautiful golden jewelry box. He called his two sons and told them he would give it to one of them and move in with him so he could spend the rest of his life there. He took the jewelry box and went with them to a nearby pond. He told them that the one who swims across the pond and first gets to the other shore and back, and will run up to him, would be the winner and get everything. The brothers set off and jumped into the water. At first they swam side by side, but when they were somewhere in the middle, one began to lag behind. Desperate, he grabbed his brother by the legs and began to fight. Eventually, he managed to drown his brother. He continued swimming calmly, and with a shout: „I am the winner”, he reached his father. His father asked him: „Where is your brother?” He said: „I don’t know, I don’t care what he is doing.” He grabbed the jewelry box and started to leave. His father followed him. He turned and shouted at him: „Father, so far you have known how to take care of yourself, so continue to take care of yourself. I won’t take care of you, I’m so busy and worried I can’t afford it. Just stay where you are.”
The third story.
The landlord had a large farmyard. He kept a lot of all kinds of poultry on it. He decided to beautify him so that he would not be so ordinary and buy a beautiful peacock. The peacock began to show off proudly in front of everyone who appeared near him, stretching a beautiful tail, and if someone passed by inadvertently, he warned himself with a loud scream. The first threw himself on food when the housekeeper brought it to them, and when he ate, the others had to wait until it was over. All the inhabitants of the farmyard tolerated it silently. But once a fox walked by. She noticed a peacock and immediately got a taste for such a beautiful bird, which she saw for the first time in her life. She scrambled under the fence and jumped on him. He started defending himself, screaming and calling for help until the landlord noticed and drove the fox away from him. But there was a terrible look at the peacock. Instead of a beautiful bird, a plucked and unhappy bird stood there almost completely to the skin. The farmyard inhabitants were thrilled, praising the fox, and angry with their master for not letting her finish the work of destruction. The peacock has changed completely. He no longer screamed and obediently waited until everyone had eaten. Only then did he allow himself to go to the feeder to eat what had left for him. He did not look for the best place to sleep, waited for everyone to settle down, and quietly lay down in the last place. But it didn’t give the fox any peace. She decided to revisit the farm and seize something. When all the inhabitants were asleep, she crawled under the fence again and caught the first hen that came in her way. The peacock noticed it and immediately threw himself on the fox with a loud scream. An unequal duel began, and although the peacock fought like a lion, he was eventually killed by a fox. In the meantime, however, the landlord woke up to a loud scream and drove the fox away. All inhabitants, with deep sorrow, walked around the peacock’s dead body, and everyone was sorry that he was no longer among them, the amazing bird that had so bravely engaged in fighting the fox to prevent it from catching even a single hen.
