Two boys of a tennis team groaned incessantly about the
rigor of their training.
“It is too hot to play tennis today,” quipped one.
“I’m thirsty,” remarked two.
Meanwhile, two other boys – also members of the tennis team –
worked tirelessly at perfecting their back hand shots.
“I’ll surely win my next match if I keep this up,” said
three.
“No one will be able to return this serve,” shouted four.
(Tennis court in Racice. Photographed by Jiri Sedlacek.)
Source: Wikimedia Commons
The boys happen to have traveled very different roads to
make it where they are today. The first group’s families are well off and
pretentious. The second group’s families are quite the opposite, they have very
little but are thankful for their blessings.
Having taken a seat under a shade umbrella, boys one and two
rest and drink a sports drink.
“I just want to go home and swim and eat ice cream,” said
one.
“These new shoes that my father bought don’t seem to be
helping my performance like the advertisement promised,” proclaimed two.
Meanwhile, three and four smash the ball back and forth in a
heated match in order to prove who was the better of the two.
“I really think that we could win the national championship
in doubles,” claims four as they pause between matches.
“I guess I’d play with you – you are all right,” three
explained.
See, three and four work at age fourteen on weekday
afternoons in order to pay for their tennis lessons and equipment; one and two?
They watch television and ride dirt-bikes.
It is a seen as a gift to be able to play the sport that
three and four so love.
One and two see it as an obligation set forth by their
parents that was their demise.
Three and four realize that tennis afforded them the only opportunity
to thrive.
Author’s note. This story is based on the fable titled “The
oxen and the wheels.” The fable is out of the book The Aesop for Children by (anonymous), illustrated by Milo Winter (1919). The story involves two
ox who pull a heavy wagon without complaint. Meanwhile, the two wheels of the
wagon complain non-stop because they have to work. I thought about many
children today who have so much and appreciate so little, so I adapted it to
fit something they would likely do.
I do like your little modern twist to the original tale. Your version is definitely something I see in every day life, not just around me but personally as well. I myself fall in the same track as One and Two, something I'm not all too proud of. The moral behind the story is very important, especially for our generation and the future generations because a lot of kids nowadays take things for granted just because they weren't able to see hardships or they come from a really extravagant lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI as well really like your twist to the original fable by putting it in modern terms. However, I went to a high school that had lots of people like 1 and 2 and I can honestly say why some are like that the majority are just as hardworking as three and four. The majority of my friends who were like 1 and 2 are preparing to start med school, law school, or a big full time job next year that they have earned on their own merit. I still really like the example though of how hard work always does pay off no matter who you are.
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