Sergey Valerich The parable of good and bad deeds

Introduction

Our entire life is an uninterrupted flow of deeds and actions. And by doing them, it's as if we weave the tapestry of our lives with the threads of our deeds and actions… or as if we build the house of our lives with bricks of deeds and actions. And no one wants to shiver from drafts in their leaky house of life… Just like our heroes, the fairy souls Mickey and Oscar, live and construct their houses of life in a magical world. But sometimes storms and rain come, and Mickey's house stands strong and intact, providing warmth to its owner, while for some reason, Oscar's house crumbles and collapses like sand! And so, the time has come for Oscar to embark on an interesting and enlightening adventure to find the cause of his troubles and discover why houses of life crumble from the rain. How to distinguish good deeds from bad? What is the most important law in life? Why do good deeds receive such little payment? How to find a guiding principle for life and build a reliable and everlasting house of life?…

Mickey and Oscar

Once upon a time, in a fairy and magical world, there were two souls named Mickey and Oscar. They were friends, enjoyed life, grew and learned, worked and rested. Together, on the same street, they built their houses with beautiful gardens in a cozy and beautiful town, surrounded by a wonderful forest and a small but beautiful lake. Mickey was kind-hearted, cheerful, and responsive, always ready to help others in any way he could. Oscar, on the other hand, didn't like to share or help much, and always seemed to be in a rush. But like Mickey, he often had fun and liked to play pranks. Mickey had a small but cozy house for living, which looked strong and beautiful. Around it was a well-tended, fruitful garden, where the friends often spent time in the shade, having fun and playing various games. Oscar, on the other hand, had a large but unimpressive house because he often had to rebuild and repair it after every bad weather. And Oscar often came to visit Mickey in his small but cozy kind house, to tell about the past day, drink tea with jam, play and have fun.

Oscar is building a veranda

One day, Oscar was returning home in the evening when he saw his friend tending to the flowers in the garden.

— Hello, Mickey! — said Oscar, — wait for me a little later today, let's rest and talk.

— Of course, Oscar, I'm always happy to see you! — Mickey joyfully replied.

— I worked hard today at the fair of deeds and accomplishments and received a big cart of bricks as a reward. I'll be building a veranda soon! — Oscar proudly announced.

— Great, my friend, I'll be waiting for you, — answered Mickey.

Oscar flew off to unload his reward — bricks for his house. He wanted to expand it by building a big veranda and fixing the holes that appeared after the last rain. Carefully unloading everything, he fulfilled his promise and flew to Mickey's house.

— So, how are things, Mickey? — asked Oscar, enjoying a delicious raspberry tea by the warm fireplace in Mickey's house.

— Excellent, Oscar, I did some work at the fair today, took on my favorite task, and was rewarded with a couple of bricks for my house. I'm saving them up for a new addition, — Mickey said proudly.

— Come on! Just two bricks! — Oscar exclaimed in surprise, — I wouldn't bother for just two. Today I started with a regular job and they gave me a few bricks. But then I switched to one I really enjoy and got a whole cartload of bricks!

— Well done, a whole cartload? I never got that much in a week! — Mickey replied with admiration, — But usually I don't like the jobs and deeds that give you a lot of bricks right away. I don't know why, I just don't want to do them.

— Oh, come on, Mickey! Jobs are jobs, deeds are deeds, everyone does them at the fair of life. And you know, — Oscar whispered conspiratorially, — yesterday I saw some deeds on the list that could get you ten times as many bricks as I got today! But I'm afraid I might not be able to handle them and just waste my time.

— Yeah, there are those kinds of deeds sometimes, but never mind that. Let's talk about what you're planning to build, and I'll tell you about my ideas for improving my house and garden later, — Mickey said.

And the friends continued their conversation about their planned constructions and their deeds and actions at the fair. Oscar bragged again about his accomplishments and, of course, the bricks he received for them, for his large life house. As they talked, they sipped tea and then flew off to play and have fun.

The Hurricane and the Rain in the Little Town

Soon after Oscar built the veranda, he invited Mickey over. They praised the new construction, enjoying tea with jam on it until late in the evening, telling each other stories and having fun.

A few days passed, and suddenly a hurricane with rain swept over their cozy little town. The wind was tossing and turning everything in its path. The rain poured down like from a bucket, washing away all the dirt and filth from the roofs and walls of the houses, cleaning the streets, and watering the trees in the garden with much-needed water.

It was scary to go outside, and everyone sat in their homes, taking shelter from the bad weather. But Mickey, happy and satisfied with the rain, sat by the warm fireplace and read books. Finally, the rain would water his trees and flowers in the garden, and it would wash away the dust and dirt from the streets.

Suddenly, in the midst of the rain, someone knocked on the door, and there stood Oscar, soaked and shivering.

— This damn rain again! — he angrily hissed, — why is it coming down? What for? The wind blows through the walls of my house, and water is dripping in the corners. The dampness is everywhere, and half of my house is flooded. I can't even warm up by my huge fireplace! It's the same thing every time!

— Let's hurry and go to the sauna to warm up, — suggested Oscar, — I knew you would come, as usual, after such rain to warm up, and this time I was not mistaken. Then we'll have some tea with raspberry jam by the fireplace, — and the friends went to warm up in the sauna.

— And I don't understand, — mused Oscar, — you work and work like an ox, but the bricks crumble like sand after every rain.

— You can stay with me in warmth while we repair your house, — offered Mickey, — I'll give you some of my bricks to patch up the holes in your house.

— But don't you need them for your new addition? — Oscar asked in surprise.

— Yes, but I'm not in a rush, and you need them more now. Otherwise, where will you live? You'll get sick in your little house with all those holes, — suggested Mickey.

— Okay, thank you, my best friend! — thanked Oscar, — but something needs to change! — Oscar almost shouted, — let's think! I want a big, beautiful, and warm house to live in, and one that won't fall apart!

— Okay, let's fly to Grandpa's tomorrow, — Mickey came up with a plan, — we need to visit him anyway, and he'll be happy to see us. We'll ask him for advice on what to do about this problem.

— Yes! We're flying to grandpa's tomorrow! — happily replied Oscar. And the friends spent a long time drinking hot tea with jam, listening to the rustle of the rain and the crackle of the fireplace, and having fun, they fell asleep in warmth and comfort.

Waking up in the morning, they inspected their properties. Mickey's place was in order, a couple of bricks had fallen off the bathhouse, but overall, everything was good, clean, and tidy. The lawn was cheerfully green, the trees in the garden rustled with joy, everything was happy with the rain, except for Oscar! He had one trouble after another, the roof was tilted, the walls of the house were like a sieve, everything was damp and in ruins…

— Again, I have to rebuild everything!!! What did I do to deserve this! But I'll manage, I'm strong! I'll build thick, sturdy walls, a fortress! And no rain will wash it away! — exclaimed Oscar, — but I need a lot, a lot of bricks, — he couldn't calm down on the way to grandpa's.

Visiting Grandpa

Grandpa welcomed Mickey and Oscar with joy and love. He had two houses on a large plot of land with a fruit orchard. One small house stood near the forest next to the lake, and a little further away was his second, large guest house. This house had a large beautiful living room with a huge warm fireplace and many rooms for his numerous friends and relatives. For himself, Grandpa had his small, but cozy and warm house by the lake.

— Oh, my beloved children! — greeted Grandpa his dear guests, — I'll give you food and drink now, so you'll have plenty of energy! Tell me, while I prepare tea with jam.

— My dear Grandpa, we need urgent help! — pleaded Oscar and told him about the recent bad weather and his destroyed house, about his insatiable desire to make things happen and to build a big and beautiful house as soon as possible.

— Your desire to make things happen and take action is very commendable, — said Grandpa and continued, — and what do you enjoy doing most, my children, at the fair of life?

— I, you see, — began Mickey, — took on a challenge yesterday — «always tell the truth», as well as «smile at passersby and help them find their way».

— But what kind of challenges are those? — laughed Oscar, — they only give you a couple of bricks each. Yesterday, I took on the challenge of «misleading passersby and showing them the wrong way», and I immediately got 20 bricks!

— Oh, Oscar, — replied Mickey with regret, — how can you take on such challenges and do them at the fair? I don't understand… I don't like it.

— Oh, come on! It's fun, and I'll build my own house to live in faster! — Oscar laughed in response.

— Oh, my children, — Grandpa said kindly, pouring everyone tea, — I was young and hot-headed like you, and always in a rush, wanting to earn my bricks quickly at the fair of life, build my house, and show off to my friends! Oh, I suffered so much with it. Just a little rain or wind, and the walls crumbled like sand. I couldn't sleep at night, it was so noisy from the cracks, as if someone was crying, and water dripped from the ceiling like someone's tears. And in the morning, I would run again to the fair of challenges and deeds to earn my bricks and rebuild my house of life… I have a lot to tell you about, how to avoid my mistakes and failures. And most importantly, what I want to tell you now — of course, there is a way to earn a lot of bricks quickly at the fair of life, and at the same time, your house will always be strong and warm.

— Yes, grandpa, please tell us, don't keep us waiting! We want to hear the secret as soon as possible! — exclaimed Oscar eagerly.

— Alright, my dear children, — continued grandpa, — tomorrow morning, go to Sun Street. There's a magical factory there that produces bricks and distributes them to merchants at the fair of deeds and actions. The merchants will give you these bricks in exchange for completing various tasks and actions. They receive their share of the sold bricks. Come back to me afterwards, and we'll continue our conversation. I'll tell you many more interesting things about what you can and cannot do, my dear