A man was employed to paint a boat. He brought paint and 1 and began to paint the boat as the owner wanted. While painting, he 2 there was a hole in the body of the boat and decided to repair it. When he finished painting, he received his 3 and left.
The next day, the owner of the boat visited the painter and 4 him a cheque (支票), much higher than what he was paid for the painting work. The painter was 5.
"You've already paid me for painting the boat, sir!" he said.
"This is not for the paint job. It's for repairing the 6 in the boat."
"Ah! But it was such a small service." the man said. "Certainly it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so 7 !"
"My dear friend," the owner said, "You don't understand. Let me tell you what happened. When I asked you to paint the boat, I 8 to mention the hole. When the paint 9, my kids took it and went on a fishing trip. They did not know that there was a hole there. I was not at home at the time. So when I 10 and noticed they had taken the boat, I was 11. Imagine my 12 and joy when I saw them returning safely from fishing."
"Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You now see what you did? You 13 the life of my children!"
Each of us has a moral duty to offer help, wipe tears, listen carefully and repair all the "hole" we 14 in our life journey, because a small act will make a big 15 in the future.
