Secondary Retelling3 min●●○○○'Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry (1892–1921)
The road
Baha'i Stories for Children · Read original
Studio narration for this story is coming — it’ll be generated by the cloud-TTS pipeline (voice: auto-selected from the source author).
When in Bahá'í history
1844'Abdu'l-Bahá (1892–1921)2026
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).
Discuss this story
For adults
- If you were to share this story aloud at a devotional gathering, which sentence would you read first?
- What in your own life does this story bring to mind?
- Where do devotion and patience meet in this story?
For teens
- How could the spirit of devotion show up in your week?
- What does this story say about how to face hard moments?
For children
- How do you think the people in this story felt at the end?
- What did this person do that was kind?
Reflection
- How does devotion show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
- Read the passage a second time, slowly. What did you notice that you missed the first time?
- Sit quietly for a moment after reading. What does this story stir in you?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "The road" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Cite this story
Various. *Baha'i Stories for Children*. https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-road.html
This story shares quotes with 94 other stories
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Also in
- 1844: A lonely youth’s encounter with Bahá’u’lláh by a roadside in Mazindaran and his amazing recognition of His station— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- 1848: Baha’u’llah describes the consternation that seized the Bábís when Tahirih suddenly appeared unveiled at the conference of Badasht— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- 1851 Karbilá, Iraq: A disciple of the Báb becomes the first person to whom Baha'u'llah confided His Divine Mission – as was prophesied by the Báb in 1848— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- A believer’s eagerness to provide financial assistance to Baha’u’llah – but chose a wrong method— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- A funny incident while in the company of the Master— Various, Baha'i Stories Blog
- …and 89 more
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