A Touching Folk Lore...

17th March, 2007

A few days back, I came across a very touching folk tale - a beautiful narration of true love... and what better forum to share it than this?! So, here you go... I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

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One day, a Japanese man, in order to renovate his house, tore open the wall. Japanese houses normally have a hollow space between the wooden walls. When he was tearing down the walls, he found that there was a lizard stuck in the dark, dusty space between the walls - a nail had been hammered right into one of its feet.

When the man saw this, he felt a curious mixture of pity and curiosity - the nail had been hammered at least 10 years ago, when house was first built. How on earth did the lizard survive in such position for 10 years??!! In a dark wall partition, for 10 years, without moving?! It was indeed a remarkable feat, next to impossible and quite mind boggling! How did the lizard manage to feed itself, without moving a single step?

So taken up with all these questions was he, that he stopped working and observed the lizard - what it has been doing and what has it been eating? Suddenly, he didn't know from where, there came another lizard, with food in its mouth...!

The man was both stunned and touched deeply. For the lizard that was stuck by the nail, another lizard has been bringing food for the past 10 years...?!

Indeed, he thought, love can do wonders!!! The little creature had been feeding its partner for some 10 long years, without ever giving up hope, without getting tired... Such a love, such a beautiful love! And so thinking, he gently removed the nail, thus freeing not just one, but both the lizards!

As he did so, he felt a tremendous sense of achievement - as if he'd played a major part in making the love-story successful! But he could not help thinking, what a brainless creature like the lizard had done for it's partner, would a far more intelligent creature like himself ever be able to replicate it for anyone?!

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The story touched me, although the truthfulness of it might be doubted by many of us intelligent creatures!