The road

A man had been traveling for many days looking for the town of Happyville. He had walked many miles in search of the wonderful town. Late one afternoon he came to a fork in the road. At the exact point where the road divided there was a rock, a very large rock. On top of the rock a young boy was seated playing a musical instrument.

The man went over to the boy and asked, "Can you please tell me which road I should take to get to Happyville?"

The boy stopped playing and said, "You can take the road to the left which is the long but short way; or you can take the road to the right which is the short but long way."

The man became angry, "You speak in riddles, all I asked was how to get to Happyville. What do you mean long but short, or short but long?"

The boy went back to his guitar and explained once again, "You can take the road to the left which is the long but short way, or you can take the road to the right which is the short but long way."

By now the man was even angrier than before. "I cannot stand your foolishness; I am going to take the road to the right which is short but long."

The man started down the road to the right. When he went a very short distance he came upon a river with the town of Happyville clearly on the other side. The man looked all around but he could not find a way to cross over the river.

His face turned red with anger. He then went back to the fork in the road where the boy was still playing his guitar. The man yelled, "You speak of long but short and short but long, but this road leads to a river and there is no bridge!"

The boy stopped playing and said softly, "You took the short but long road. If you would have taken the long but short road you would have had to walk a little further but you would have come to a bridge which crosses the river and leads right into Happyville."

Moral: We are all looking for Happyville and sometimes the path seems so clear and easy. But watch out. . . the short road may really be the long one and the road that looks a little more difficult may actually lead you to happiness sooner.

(by Barry A. Kaufman, Child’s Way Magazine, May-June, 1971)

Source: Baha'i Stories for Children (https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-road.html).

Various. *Baha'i Stories for Children*. https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-road.html