Submitted by
Nada Ahsan BBA-MIS IV
Once upon a time,
there was a rich merchant who had 4 wives.
He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich
robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and
gave her nothing but the best. He also loved the 3rd wife very
much. He was very
proud of her and always wanted to show her off to his friends.
However, the merchant always feared that she might run away with
some other person.
He also loved his 2nd wife. She was a very considerate person,
always patient and in fact was the merchant's confidante. Whenever
the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife
and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult
times.
Now, the
merchant's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great
contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as
taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love
the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took
notice of her.
One day, the
merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die
soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with
me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!" Thus,
he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you most, endowed you with
the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm
dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No way!" replied the 4th
wife and she walked away without another word. The answer
cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart.
The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have
loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you
follow me and keep me company?"
"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good
over here! I'm going
to remarry when you die!"
The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.
He then asked the
2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always
helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you
follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help
you out this time!" replied
the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your
grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the
merchant was devastated. Then
a voice called out: "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no
matter where you go. " The merchant looked up and there was his first wife.
She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition.
Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much
better care of you while I could have!"
Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives ... The 4th
wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in
making it look good, it'll leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife ?
Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to
others. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close
they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can
stay by us is up to the grave. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit
of material wealth and sensual
pleasure. Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows
us wherever we go. Perhaps it's a good idea to cultivate and
strengthen it now rather than to wait until we're on our deathbed
to lament.
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