In our Awakin Circle this Wednesday, we were grateful to be joined by the author of this week's passage, Brian Conroy. :) In his genuine way, Brian graciously captivated us with parables, like this one:

The Farmer, Butcher, and Two Broken Wings




Well, there was once a farmer who loved all living things. And one day as he was walking along, he saw a sparrow with a broken wing. Feeling sorry for the bird, he carefully picked it up and carried it home.

At home, he made a nest for the bird out of grasses and straw, and he gave the bird water and food, and he nursed it tenderly. Under the farmers care, each day, the sparrow got stronger and stronger. After a few weeks, the sparrow was healthy and its wing was healed and it was able to fly again.

So the next day the farmer brought the sparrow out to his garden and he held it in the palm of his hands. And he said, "Fly away little bird!"

The little bird flew away. But before he did, he spoke to the farmer, because -- in those days, birds could speak. :)

The sparrow dropped a tiny little yellow pumpkin seed in the farmer's hand and said, "Plant this seed in your garden and you will get what you deserve," and then flew away into a clear blue sky.

Well, later that day, the farmer planted that pumpkin seed in his garden. The next day, he noticed a huge sprout growing out of his garden.

And the next day that sprout was twice as big.

And the next day it was a vine that was twice as big as the day before. It continued to double in size day after day, until it became an enormous vine! And at the end of that, vine was a huge, yellow pumpkin. And when that pumpkin was ripe, the farmer snapped the pumpkin off the vine and he split it open.

To his greatest astonishment, inside the heart of the pumpkin poured gold and silver and diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds -- more riches than he could have ever imagined were his!

Well, the news, this miraculous occurrence spread throughout the countryside, and everyone who heard the news praised the goodness, and the kindness, of the farmer.

Everyone that is except for one man... the butcher.

Now, the butcher -- when he heard the news, he was sick with jealousy. He was so angry. He bit his lips until he tasted blood.

But then, he had a wonderful idea.

He, too, would find a sparrow with a broken wing! He would nurse it back to health, and then he would receive the same reward as the farmer.

So the next day he went out in search of a sparrow with a broken wing.

"Here, birdie, birdie. Come to Papa! Let me picture a little broken wing!"

But, at the end of the day, the butcher couldn't even find a bird with a missing feather, let alone one with a broken wing. He began to lose his patience. So he took out his slingshot, but a great big ol' rock in it, aimed it at a sparrow in a nearby tree, and -- WHAP! A sparrow fell at his feet with a broken wing.

"Awwwww, are you alright, little birdieeee?! Oh, do you have a broken wing? Ah, let me fix it for you. And when I do, don't forget about my reward!"

He grabbed the sparrow roughly, and he put it in his dirty pocket, and he carried it home. Begrudgingly, the butcher gave it water and food. And every time he gave the sparrow something, he reminded the bird: "Don't forget about what I'm doing for you, and don't forget my reward!"

But after only a few weeks, the bird was healthy again. Its wing was healed, and it was ready to fly again.

So the butcher took the sparrow out to his garden, put it in the palm of his hands, and said, "Now get outta here! Scram! And don't you dare forget my reward."

Well, the sparrow turned to the butcher and dropped a tiny yellow pumpkin seed in his hand, and said, "Plant this seed in your garden and you will get what you deserve." And he flew away as quickly as possible.

Oh, the butcher was overjoyed! He immediately planted the pumpkin seed in his garden. The next day, it was a huge sprout. And the next day after that, it was twice as big as the day before. And it continued to multiply and grow until it was a huge vine. It grew straight up into the sky -- straight up, and up and up!

But the butcher noticed that there wasn't a single pumpkin on the vine.

But that vine continued going straight up and up and up, until finally, on the night of the full harvest moon, it had stretched all the way to the moon itself.

And the butcher, "I understand all the riches of the moon for me! I'll be rich, rich, rich! All mine! Mine! Mine!"

He leaped onto the vine, and he began climbing up higher, and higher and higher, dreaming of the riches that he would soon have: "Gold! Jewels! Diamonds! All mine! All mine!"

He climbed and he climbed and he climbed some more until finally he stepped onto the surface of the moon.

As soon as he did, the vine shrank. And withered. And disappeared, leaving the butcher all alone on the moon with nothing but his greed.

They say that, on clear nights, if you look carefully, you can still see him up there, shining as an example to remind us: we get what we deserve.