A frail old man lived with his son, daughter-in-law and four year old grandson. His eyes were blurry, his hands trembled and his step faltered.
The family would eat together nightly at the dinner table. But, the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon, dropping to the floor. When he grasped his drink, it often spilled clumsily on the tablecloth.
With this happening almost every night, the son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.
"We must do something about grandfather," said the son.
"I've had enough of his drink spilling, noisy eating and food on the floor," the wife agreed.
So the couple set a small table in the corner.
There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their at the main table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in wooden bowls. Sometimes, when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four year old watching it all in silence.
One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wooden scraps on the floor. He asked his child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy replied, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up." The four year old smiled and went back to work.
These words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears streamed down their cheeks. Though no words were spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening, the husband took grandfather's hand and led him back to the family table.
For the remainder of his days, grandfather ate every mean with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care about a dropped fork, spilled food or a soiled tablecloth.
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