Monday, December 8, 2008

A Tramp

The travelling beggar said unto the lemonade-stall man: “I seek a light from heaven. Can you help me find it?”
The lemonade-stall man, who was known amongst the people of the village as Bill, stared at the beggar and said: “Why is it that you are dressed so? Come! I will take you to the tailor’s!”
The lonely traveller was not to be moved, however. “Will this tailor bring me the inspiration I seek?” he asked.
“Perhaps,” replied Bill, “he will bring you clothes, too.”
But the tramp was not satisfied.

And so the travelling beggar said unto the old librarian: “I seek a light from heaven. Can you help me find it?”
The old librarian, who was known in the town as Gwenyth, looked kindly upon the beggar and said: “Why yes, I can. But you look so lean! Surely some food to hearten your stomach would help you in your search?”
The lonely traveller was not to be moved, however. “Food is a substance for the body, not for the mind,” he stated.
“True,” replied Gwenyth, “yet have you not heard of the proverb- ‘food for thought’?”
But the tramp was not satisfied.

And so the travelling beggar said unto the suited businessman: “I seek a light from heaven. Can you help me find it?”
The suited businessman was not known amongst the millions he passed in the city, but his name was Warren. He recoiled from the sight of the beggar and exclaimed: “What are you doing here? You need a bath and a haircut, not to mention some cologne!”
The lonely traveller was not to be moved, however. “You speak of frivolities designed for the flesh. I seek a shining light for the soul,” he said resolutely.
“In that case,” replied Warren with contempt, “you will find the yoga place around the corner.”
But the tramp was not satisfied.

And so the travelling beggar knelt by the young girl and said: “I seek a light from heaven. Can you help me find it?”
The young girl- a mere toddler, ignored by the majority of the society- was named Kya. She looked curiously up at the beggar and said: “Why are you worried so? The only light above is the sun.”
The lonely traveller was moved. “How did you come to such a revelation?” he asked in admiration.
“Simple,” Kya replied, “I just looked.”
And the tramp was satisfied.
 
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Australia License.