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To give credit where credit is due, I heard this story in an address by Dr. Eric Rackham, then president of McKendree College. Dr. Rackham grew up in Nova Scotia, and he said that there on the coast it was the custom among young boys to carve, paint, and fit out small model sailing boats. They worked very hard at it. One small lad worked many hours on his creation and was very proud of it. He spent many hours sailing it in the surf. One day, however, in his eagerness he went to sail it, against his mother's warning, as the tide was turning. The little boat was carried out to sea and seemingly irretrievably lost. The little boy was heart-broken. His mother was wise enough not to waste much time on "I told you so's," and suggested making another. He was convinced, however, there could never be another boat like the one that was lost.
Many months later, he and his mother were walking in the village, when, in the window of a second-hand shop, the boy spotted his boat. When asked if he were sure, he said, "Oh, yes, I know my boat, besides, there is the nick in the side where my knife slipped." On inquiry, they found the owner of the shop had bought the boat from a fisherman who found it washed up on the beach. His mother, a wise woman, told the boy that he must earn the money to pay the shopkeeper for it as it wouldn't be fair to simply ask for it back. Having made a deal with the merchant to hold it for him, they went home. After several anxious weeks of chores and errands, the lad had enough money. They returned to town to claim the boat. As he joyously hugged this precious possession on the way home, he looked up at his mother and said, "You know it is really mine now." "What do you mean?", his mother asked "I made it, but now I've paid for it too." Happy Easter!
- Shearburn
To give credit where credit is due, I heard this story in an address by Dr. Eric Rackham, then president of McKendree College. Dr. Rackham grew up in Nova Scotia, and he said that there on the coast it was the custom among young boys to carve, paint, and fit out small model sailing boats. They worked very hard at it. One small lad worked many hours on his creation and was very proud of it. He spent many hours sailing it in the surf. One day, however, in his eagerness he went to sail it, against his mother's warning, as the tide was turning. The little boat was carried out to sea and seemingly irretrievably lost. The little boy was heart-broken. His mother was wise enough not to waste much time on "I told you so's," and suggested making another. He was convinced, however, there could never be another boat like the one that was lost.
Many months later, he and his mother were walking in the village, when, in the window of a second-hand shop, the boy spotted his boat. When asked if he were sure, he said, "Oh, yes, I know my boat, besides, there is the nick in the side where my knife slipped." On inquiry, they found the owner of the shop had bought the boat from a fisherman who found it washed up on the beach. His mother, a wise woman, told the boy that he must earn the money to pay the shopkeeper for it as it wouldn't be fair to simply ask for it back. Having made a deal with the merchant to hold it for him, they went home. After several anxious weeks of chores and errands, the lad had enough money. They returned to town to claim the boat. As he joyously hugged this precious possession on the way home, he looked up at his mother and said, "You know it is really mine now." "What do you mean?", his mother asked "I made it, but now I've paid for it too." Happy Easter!
- Shearburn
