The Good You Do Comes Back to You

The Good You Do Comes Back to You

A woman baked bread for members of her family and an
extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept the extra
bread on the window sill, for whosoever would take it
away.

Every day, a hunch-back came and took away the bread.
Instead of expressing gratitude, he muttered the
following words as he went his way: "The evil you do
remains with you; the good you do comes back to you!"

This went on, day after day. Every day, the hunch-back
came, picked up the bread and uttered the words: "The
evil you do remains with you; the good you do comes
back to you!"

The woman felt irritated. "Not a word of gratitude,"
she said to herself. "Everyday this hunch-back utters
this jingle! What does he mean?"

"One day, out of desperation, she decided to do away
with him. "I shall get rid of this hunch-back," she
said. And what did she do? She added poison to the
bread she prepared for him! As she was about to place
it on the window sill, her hands trembled. "What is
this I am doing?" she said.

Immediately, she threw the bread into the fire,
prepared another one and kept it on the window sill.
As usual, the hunch-back came, picked up the bread and
muttered the words: "The evil you do remains with you;
the good you do comes back to you!"

The hunch-back proceeded on his way, blissfully
unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman.
Every day, as the woman placed the bread on the
window-sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had
gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. For many
months, she had no news of him. She prayed for his
safe return.

That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she
opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing
in the doorway. He had grown thin and lean. His
garments were tattered and torn. He was hungry,
starved and weak. As he saw his mother, he said, "Mom,
it's a miracle I'm here. While I was but a mile away, I
was so hungry that I collapsed. I would have died, but
just then an old hunch-back passed by. I begged of him
for a small part of his food, and he was kind enough to
give me a whole bread. "As he gave it to me, he said,
"This is what I eat everyday; today, I shall give it
to you, for your need is greater than mine!"

"As the mother heard those words, her face turned pale
and red. She leaned against the door for support. She
remembered the poisoned bread that she had made that
morning. Had she not burnt it in the fire, it would
have been eaten by her own son, and he would have lost
his life!

It was then that she realized the significance of the
words: "The evil you do remains with you; the good you
do comes back to you!"

Do good--and don't ever stop doing good--even if it's
not appreciated at that time.

-- Author unknown.