A LEGEND ABOUT THE CREATION OF MAN:
When God had finished
creating the man, the Creator realized that he had used up all the concrete
elements. There was nothing solid, nothing compact or hard, left-over to create
the woman.
After thinking for a long
time, the Creator took the roundness of the moon, the flexibility of a clinging
vine and the trembling of grass, the slenderness of a reed and the blossoming
of flower, the lightness of leaves and the serenity of the rays of sunshine,
the tears of clouds and the instability of the wind, the fearfulness of a
rabbit and the vanity of a peacock, the softness of a bird’s breast and the
hardness of a diamond, the sweetness of honey and the cruelty of a tiger, the
burning of fire and the coldness of snow, the talkativeness of a magpie and the
singing of a nightingale, the falseness of a crane and the faithfulness of a
mother lion – Mixing all these non-solid elements together, the Creator created
the woman and gave her to the man.
AFTER ONE WEEK, THE MAN CAME BACK AND
SAID:
“Lord, the creature that
you have given to me makes my life unhappy. She talks without ceasing and
torments me intolerably, so that I have no rest. She insists that I pay
attention to her all the time and so my hours are wasted. She cries about every
little thing and leads an idle life. I have to give her back to you, because I
can’t live with her.”
The Creator Said: “All
right.” And he took her back.
After a week had passed, the man came back
to the Creator and said:
“Lord, my life is so empty since I gave
that creature back to you. I always think of her – how she danced and sang; how
she chatted with me and then snuggled close to me. She was so beautiful to look
at and so soft to touch. I liked so much to hear her laugh. Please give her
back to me.”
The Creator said: “All right.” And he gave her back.
But three days later, the man came back again and
said: “Lord, I don’t know – I just
can’t explain it, but after all my experience with this creature, I’ve come to
the conclusion that she causes me more trouble than pleasure. I pray thee, take
her back again! I can’t live with her!”
The Creator replied: “You
can’t live without her either!” And he turned his back to the man and
continued his work.
The man said in desperation: “What
shall I do? I can’t live with her and can’t live without her!” “LOVE IS A FEELING TO BE LEARNED”.
