Epics for children | Discover your true self
A story is told of a small flower. It was a grass-flower and it grew in a garden, in the shade of its almost broken wall. Some stones of the wall had fallen on the grassy ground. Among these stones, and almost covered by them, grew the grass-flower.
The flower could not see much of the world due to the stones. When the storms came, they could not uproot the flower, because the stones protected it from the gusts. When the sun shone too brightly, the flower had no problem, because it was shaded by the stones. When the raindrops fell too hard, they could not throw the flower on the ground because it was already on the ground.
At a little distance from the tiny grass flower grew some rose flowers. One night, the grass-flower prayed to God, ‘I have been a grass-flower for long. Please make me a rose flower.’
God replied, ‘Life as a rose flower will not be easy. No sooner than a rose blooms, than it is plucked. When the rain falls, the tender petals of the rose fall to the ground. You are much safer being a grass-flower.’
The flower replied, ‘I have spent enough days in safety. Now I want to experience life as a rose, if only for one day.’ Other grass-flowers nearby gave words of advice, ‘We have heard stories that some of our ancestors also tried the same madness, and got nothing but trouble out of it. Our collective experience says that we are fine where we are.’ The flower said, ‘I can never feel the heat of the sun fully, I can never fight the storms, I can never stand against the falling rain.’
The other flowers said, ‘You fool! What is the need? We are living a comfortable life in the shade of stones.’
The flower kept repeating its prayer, and, in the morning, it became a rose. Alittle later, a storm started, and the flower swayed dangerously. Its petals started falling to the ground. By noon, the sun came out in full force. Due to the heat, the rose started wilting.
By evening, a heavy rain fell and uprooted the flower. The flower fell on the grassy ground near other grass-flowers. They told the flower, ‘You are a fool to have given up your life like this. You invited these troubles on yourself. There was safety in our old way of life, which you should have never left.’
The dying flower said, ‘By living one day as a rose flower, I have discovered my true self. I have fought storms, faced the sun, and withstood pouring rains. I am dying after living, but you are living like dead.’