An Act of Kindness

An Act of Kindness

One morning, a boy named Andres took a few coins and set out for the market to buy rice. His mother was waiting at home, so he walked quickly, thinking only about finishing the errand without delay. Then, beside the road, Andres saw a man standing over a small snake. The little creature was curled in the grass and was not attacking anyone, but the man had already raised a long knife. “Wait!” Andres cried. “Did it bite you?” “No,” said the man. “But it might bite someone else.” Andres looked carefully at the snake. It was only trying to hide beneath the leaves. “Then please let it go. It has done nothing.” The man shook his head. “Why should you care?” Andres closed his hand around the coins meant for the rice. He hated the thought of returning home without the food his mother expected, but he felt even worse about the frightened little creature. “Take my money,” he said, “and just let the snake crawl away.” The man was surprised, but he accepted the coins and went on his way. Andres crouched beside the grass. “It is all right now. You can go home.” The little snake lifted its head. “You spent your last coins to save me,” it said softly. “I will not forget that. Come with me. My elder will want to thank you.” Andres froze. “You can talk?” “This is an unusual day for you,” said the snake. “Do not use up all your surprise at once.” It slipped along a path, and after a moment's hesitation Andres followed. Beyond a hill they reached a cool cave. Water dripped somewhere in the darkness. Drip. Drip. Drip. Deep inside lay a great old serpent. When he saw the boy, he raised his head warily. “Who is this stranger?” The little snake moved forward. “He saved me. He protected me even though he expected nothing in return.” The elder studied Andres for a long time. “What reward would you like?” Andres remembered what his new friend had told him. “If I may choose, I would like the red cloth.” The elder seemed surprised, but he soon brought out a folded piece of crimson cloth. “This is no ordinary cloth,” he said. “Spread it out and politely ask for food when you truly need it, and it will set a meal before you. But remember, magical things can easily spoil a person who begins to think only of himself.” Andres thanked him and started home. By midday he was very hungry. He sat beneath a tree, spread the red cloth on the ground, and said uncertainly, “If you can, please give me a little rice and something to eat with it.” The cloth stirred. A moment later it held a bowl of fragrant rice, vegetables, fruit, and cool water. Andres stared. “Well, this is certainly easier than cooking.” He ate, but asked for no more than he needed. The road home was long. Toward evening Andres came to a small hut and asked if he might rest. An elderly woman welcomed him inside. “I have almost nothing for supper,” she said. “Then let us have supper together,” Andres replied. He spread the red cloth, and soon the table was covered with food. Andres did not hide the magic and gladly shared the meal. The woman was fascinated. “I will trade you two magic stones for that cloth,” she offered. “They can roll wherever they are told, find lost things, and stop people who are behaving unfairly.” Andres thought such helpers might be useful, so he agreed. An hour later, he realized he had acted too quickly. He still had a long journey ahead, no money for food, and the red cloth was gone. “Little stones,” he said, “please go back and ask the woman to undo our trade. Tell her I regret making the decision so quickly and I am ready to return you.” The two stones went rattling down the road. At first the woman refused to give up the wonderful cloth. “We made a bargain,” she said. The stones rolled in front of the door so she could not carry the cloth outside. One of them spoke. “The bargain was made in haste. Andres is not trying to cheat you. He is returning us and asking only for his own possession back.” The woman was silent for a while. Then she sighed. “Very well. Let it be fair.” The stones wrapped the cloth carefully, carried it back to Andres, and then rolled home to their owner, just as promised. Later Andres stopped at another small house. The elderly woman who lived there gave him water and a place to rest. To thank her, Andres asked the red cloth to set supper for them both. “I have not eaten this well in a long time,” she said. “For your generosity, I will give you two unusual walking sticks. They never hurt people, but they are excellent at protecting a home. They can bar a door, close a shutter, knock a stolen object from someone's hands, or make such a racket on the floor that an unwelcome visitor runs away.” “That is the kind of magic I like,” Andres said. “Useful without being cruel.” When he finally reached home, his mother was terribly worried. “Where have you been? And where is the rice?” “Mother, I will explain everything. But first, let us eat.” He spread out the red cloth. A warm meal appeared on the table. As they ate, Andres told her about the snake, the cave, the serpent elder, the red cloth, the rolling stones, and the walking sticks. His mother listened, shaking her head in amazement. “So you came home without rice, but with enough adventure to fill an entire book.” From that day on, they no longer feared going hungry. Yet Andres never asked the cloth for mountains of gold or endless feasts. He requested only as much food as they needed, and whenever a neighbor had suffered a poor harvest or a difficult week, he invited them to share. Most people were happy for Andres and his mother. One wealthy neighbor, however, became jealous. “Why should they have a miracle when I do not?” he grumbled. One night he sent several thieves to steal the red cloth. Andres's dog began barking. Andres woke and heard footsteps near the door. “Walking sticks,” he whispered, “please help us protect the house.” The two sticks jumped to the doorway. One braced the bolt. The other hammered loudly against the floor. Thump! Thump! Thump! The thieves tried a window, but the sticks snapped the shutters closed. By good fortune, the two magic stones were visiting Andres that night with their owner's permission. They rolled across the yard and stopped directly in front of the intruders. “Enough,” said one stone. “Something does not become yours merely because you want it badly.” The thieves were so startled by the voices, the pounding, and the magical commotion that they dropped their ropes and bags and fled. The next morning Andres found a note by the gate from the jealous neighbor. “I behaved badly. It will not happen again.” Andres did not seek revenge. He wrote back, “I am glad you understand. If you are ever hungry, knock on our door in daylight and we will share our food. But you may not steal.” People say the wealthy neighbor began to spend a little less time thinking about what others had and a little more time noticing whom he himself could help. Andres kept the red cloth for many years. Yet the greatest wonder in his story was not that a piece of cloth could fill a table with food. The greatest wonder had happened beside the road, when a boy gave away his last coins to save a small life without expecting anything in return. Everything else began with that one act of kindness.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨