Theme: Goodwill; serve God

The lights

Once upon a time there was a firefly who lived in a field, with lots of vegetation and many other insects too. This place was far from the cities. There was no presence of man or his inventions there.

	In that field, the firefly was the only insect that had light. His greenish light was admired by
everyone. During the day he lived like other insects, but at night he literally glowed.

His light was not only beautiful, but very useful as well. His friends often asked for help finding something in the dark, or finding a puppy that hadn't come home before dark.

The firefly knew his special condition and was happy about it. Not because he was proud, but because he felt useful. He knew he could collaborate a lot with his friends and neighbors.

One day, the dragonfly friend, who flies quickly and to many places, brought news. She had seen a place built by men and said that there were very different things there.

The animals were curious and organized an excursion to also discover the incredible things that the dragonfly had talked about.

On the appointed day, the dragonfly came and guided the friends to the men's farm. The trip was long, but it was worth it.

There were so many new things: the house, the fence, the well, the tools... The dragonfly was right. They were incredible things.

The insects stayed all day learning about men's inventions. They found everything so interesting that they decided to spend the night there and return the next day.

They were hoping to just rest, but the night brought incredible surprises as well. As soon as it got dark, lights began to appear that the insects had never seen before.

At the top of a streetlamp, a lamp lit up, illuminating everything around it. A fireplace was lit inside the house, which, in addition to providing heat, illuminated and brought comfort to the entire room. In the room there was a candle on the dresser, which left the animals enchanted. It wasn't long before a man arrived at the house with a flashlight that could illuminate the entire dirt road.

The insects were very impressed. They knew the light of the sun, moon and stars; lights that shone in the sky. Up close, the only light they had ever seen was that of the firefly.

The next morning, they returned home very excited, telling everyone what they had discovered.

The firefly, however, despite trying to hide it, was not excited like the others. He was even little sad. The beetle, who knew him very well, noticed and wanted to know what was happening.

– Beetle friend – said the firefly – we saw so many beautiful and powerful lights. I thought I was important for being able to emit light. But my light does not compare to that of the lamp, nor of the fireplace, nor of the lantern, nor even of the candle, which was the smallest of all.

– I realized that my light is insignificant – he continued – and that you would be much better off with any other light like that, than with me.

– Firefly, where are the lamp, the fireplace, the lantern and the candle? Do you see any of them here? – asked the beetle. – You don't have as much light as them, but you are the one by our side. It was you that God put here, to help us. What He expects is that you continue to help, with good will, just the way you are!

– Don’t be upset because there are lights brighter than yours – continued the beetle. – For us, the important thing is to know that you are our friend and that you are willing to help us when we need it. And then? Can we continue counting on you?

The firefly smiled and said:

- Of course, my friend! You're right, thank you!

The beetle gave the firefly a hug and everything was fine again.

There, in that field, the firefly continued to bring his light to everyone. It wasn't the greatest light there was, but with it he was able to do a lot of good for everyone.

Translation: 
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com
 

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com