Theme: friendship

The scale

When I was a boy, I was always fighting with my toy companions. And I used to come home whining and complaining about them. That happened, most of the time, with Beto, my best friend.

One day, when I ran home and looked for Mom to complain about Beto, she heard me and said the following:

- Go and get your scale and blocks.

- But what does this have to do with Beto?

- You'll see... Let's play a game.

I obeyed and brought the scale and blocks. Then she said:

 - First, we will place a block on this scale plate to represent each defect of Beto. Tell me what they are.

I started to list them and a number of blocks were stacked on that side.

- You have nothing more to say?

I didn't and she proposed:

- So, you will now list his qualities. Each of them will be a block on the other scale plate.

I hesitated, but she encouraged me saying:

- Doesn't he let you ride his bike? Doesn't he share his candy with you?

I agreed and proceeded to mention what was good about my little friend's character. She was placing the blocks on the other side. Suddenly I realized that the balance was swinging. But more and more blocks came in favor of Beto. I laughed and Mom observed:

- You like Beto and were happy to see that his good qualities outweigh his defects. This always happens, as you will verify yourself throughout your life.

And indeed. Over the years that small weighing incident has had an important influence on my judgments. Before criticizing a person, I remember that scale and compare good with the bad points. And, fortunately, there is almost always a compensating advantage, which greatly strengthens my confidence in mankind.

From the book "And, for the rest of life...", by Wallace Leal V. Rodrigues.

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com