Poems, stories and lots more- Dr Audrey Coatesworth

The first part of this story is about two small boys. Let me tell you a little about them. They could have the same names as you or very different ones. I don’t know as they couldn’t tell me.

They were both about nine years of age. They were friends but, sadly, both were orphans. In case you do not know, an orphan is a child whose mother and father have both died. These two boys lived in a very poor part of a large country and so they were on their own. They had no home, no one to look after them, no one to provide clothes and no one to prepare any food. That is so awful, that, if you live in a good home with your family, it is very difficult to imagine what their lives must be like. But they had no choice.

During each day they picked up bits of material, paper, metal, old fizzy drinks bottles and such like on the large rubbish tip nearby. They put these into a big plastic bag they had found. By evening, just before it became too dark to see, they left the rubbish tip and they helped each other to carry the bag into the nearest street.

A man who lived in that street was very kind, and, though he was also poor and had little food for himself and his family, he usually agreed to take what they had collected and would give them both a small plate of cooked rice. That was usually the only food they had all day. They had no fun, no toys, no play, no one to love them; they had only days and weeks of walking on other people’s rubbish to try to find something they could exchange for food.

I say ‘lived’ but I do not think it could be called proper ‘living’, do you? They had no possessions, that is, they had nothing that they could call their own or anything to keep. You could see quite clearly that they had nothing at all.

Even in their distress, they cared for each other and each worked for food for his friend as much as for himself. Each one watched so that no snakes, rats or dogs came near to harm the other. They shared everything that they had. They helped each other. They stayed together and never argued or fought.

For some people even having everything is never enough. They always want more.

But these two boys, though they had nothing, yet, in a very different way, they had much that other children could have and learn from. They had something very, very special, something that no one had given them. Do you know what that was?

They had kindness in their hearts.

In most countries in the world there are people who are rich and people who are poor, but in some countries in the world there are people who are very, very, very rich and some who are very, very, very poor.

In the same country as the two boys, there lived a very, very, very rich man. He was like a king and lived in a big palace, which had over one hundred bedrooms, most of which were ornately decorated and furnished, but empty. He had so many rooms that he had not seen or been inside some of them for years. Can you imagine that? The palace had very large grounds. Even if the weather was very hot and dry his lawns green and well-watered and the fountains flowed. At night, all the paths around his gardens and the fountains were lit with lanterns to make a spectacular and magical sight. He had many servants. He had a lot of friends who were also very rich.

in all his rooms, the furnishings were of the best quality. Even in the kitchens of the palace there were a lot of people. Some would prepare the food and some, who were more skilled, would cook. Can you believe that sometimes, for special occasions, he would even have two sets of cooks, so that if the food was spoiled in the cooking by one set, the other could provide the food? Why? Well, he always liked his food to be the best that could possibly be provided and it must be cooked to absolute perfection. He fed his servants well and they all were very pleased to work for him, and, of course, he provided work to many people.

He had many possessions, in fact, almost everything anyone could possibly want or have. He had food in abundance. That means he had loads and loads of whatever food he wanted. He insisted that only the best meats, fish, vegetables and fruit were bought. Yet, should there be a small mistake in any food that was prepared, even for one meal, it would not be eaten at his table. I don’t know what happened to that food, but I hope it wasn’t thrown away for rats and stray dogs to eat, don't you? People do waste food, you know, so it may have been possible.

I have to ask a question. Why, in any country, anywhere, are there children who have nothing to eat and no one to care for them, while there are adults who have so much in excess that they have not only a lot to spare, but also a lot to waste?

That answer lies in people’s hearts.

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