It is told that there was an arrogant boy named Mark. He always walked in the village with his hands in his pockets, his eyes looking down, and not talking to anyone. For this reason, the other boys avoided him, didn’t say anything to him, and didn’t play with him. When he disappeared from sight, they felt they breathed more freely.
Therefore, the arrogant boy remained alone. He didn’t have any friends except a group of doors and windows, some stray dogs, green trees, and a flock of geese resting on the bank in front of his house. One day, the boy was walking on a road called Kuwif and Far. While he was walking, he met the tailor’s son named Samuel.
The tailor’s son was noisier than any other boy in the village. He was bold, didn’t care about others’ comments, and wasn’t concerned with what they said about him even if he made a mistake. Therefore, the neighbors believed he was an adventurous boy and would do wonders when he grew up and became a man.
But Samuel himself hoped to become a great traveler, spending his life traveling and roaming for a long time in distant lands. When Samuel saw the arrogant boy on the road, he danced in front of him and provoked him greatly. He even incited him strongly, played with his face, and stuck his tongue out at him, practicing all kinds of provocation with him.
This angered the boastful boy and made him grab the tailor’s son’s hat and throw it on the road. The tailor’s son cried and left without waiting to pick up his hat. He sat alone afterward, crying in the carpentry square. After a few minutes, the boastful boy Mark came and returned his hat to him.
He said politely: Don’t worry, there’s no dust on it. But you deserved what I did to you because you angered me greatly. However, I’m sorry, for I was very rude to you when I threw your hat on the road. Samuel looked at him in amazement and said to him: I thought you were an arrogant person, and I didn’t believe you would return my hat a second time.
Mark said calmly: No, I’m not like that. I was like this in the past and did many foolish things that made you think I was arrogant. But I was able to change myself. The matter only requires some courage to abandon the trait of boastfulness.
The tailor’s son said: But I want to be boastful. Why don’t you teach me how to do this? Mark answered: It’s simple. Suddenly, he turned his eyes downward, put his hands in his pockets, and began walking away calmly. Then he said: This way, you can be boastful, but you’ll be alone.
Samuel understood that Mark was advising him to stay away from boastfulness and arrogance and not to distance himself from his peers to live happily and not be alone. From that day, Samuel became a close friend to Mark, and each learned a different lesson.
The first is that Mark shouldn’t avoid others, withdraw into himself, and interact with his friends to live happily. The second is that Samuel must admit his mistakes and not intentionally provoke his colleagues to be happy, be loved by them, and love them.