A short story for kids on the fate vs action dilemma
Ramnagar was a village in India. The village was in very bad shape. There was a severe drought. All the wells had dried up causing a severe lack of drinking and irrigation water. The only hope for the villagers was the food packages which they received once in a month or fortnightly from the king. But even that was not sufficient and regular. The villagers were becoming helpless and they started blaming their fates.
One day, a minister came to village with an announcement. He said that some experts had analyzed the soil and water resources around the village. They found some traces of water underground. The experts had advised to dig borewells. The king had agreed to help them dig the wells and he wanted the villagers to support him,
Listening to the announcement, the villagers started to speak among themselves. “Oh, digging the ground is hard work. We are all suffering from ailments without proper food. This will become a burden and we will become weaker,” said a person. Another added “Yes, you are right, more over what is the guaranty that even after digging the ground, we would get sufficient water? The river dries in the summer and how much water can we expect underground?” Another said “Our children have to slog and toil in the hot sun and what if there is no proper compensation”? . An elderly man said,“ We have been facing water shortage for generations, this is our fate we must accept it". Everyone agreed and came to a decision, that they would reject the proposal.
Sundar , who was one of the citizens of the village,was listening to all these. He said – “ All of you might be right in one way. But we cannot always leave everything to our destiny. We should also put our effort. I will join the team of experts and learn the techniques of digging the ground for water.”
He learnt the techniques and worked hard with the team of experts . Finally, ground water started to fill the bore well with in a few days of worl.
The king praised Sundar for being proactive and saving the village from the water problem. He awarded Sundar with a medal, gifted him a house and appointed him as one of the ministers for social cause.
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Parenting Takeaway:
Many a times we come across seemingly insurmountable problems, during such times it is common for people to fall for " this is my fate " trap. The best solution whenever we face any issue is to start taking action. Even small steps are better than no step at all.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Smitha Prasad is a budding writer who writes articles and short stories for kids. She believes that childhood is the right age to inculcate the right values in kids. It helps them to develop into confident adults. She designs and runs a kid’s magazine called A LITTLE MORE-An Engaging booklet, through which she tries to reach kids that helps kids stay away from screen, build conversations and build the right mindset in kids
