A tale of TWO CANDLES!

[Guest guest]

season's greetings Nora and all the shakta- bhaktas here!

 

today, it is my pleasure to share with you one of my favorite stories

from the Hans Christian Anderson collection. my mother introduced me

to the wonderful world of fairy tales - although i liked many of the

stories in the anderson collection , this one is one my favorites...

 

here is the story!

 

A TALE OF TWO CANDLES!

 

 

THERE was once a big wax-candle which knew its own importance quite

well.

 

"I am born of wax and moulded in a shape," it said "I give better

light and burn longer than other candles my place is in a chandelier

or on a silver candlestick!"

 

"That must be a lovely existence!" said the tallow-candle. "I am only

made of tallow, but I comfort myself with the thought that it is

always a little better than being a farthing dip: that is only dipped

twice, and I am dipped eight times to get my proper thickness. I am

content! it is certainly finer and more fortunate to be born of wax

instead of tallow, but one does not settle one's own place in this

world. You are placed in the big room in the glass chandelier, I

remain in the kitchen, but that is also a good place; from there the

whole house gets its food."

 

"But there is something which is more important than food," said the

wax-candle. "Society! to see it shine, and to shine oneself! There is

a ball this evening, and soon I and all my family will be fetched."

 

Scarcely was the word spoken, when all the wax-candles were fetched,

but the tallow-candle also went with them. The lady herself took it

in her dainty hand, and carried it out to the kitchen: a little boy

stood there with a basket, which was filled with potatoes; two or

three apples also found their way there. The good lady gave all this

to the poor boy.

 

"There is a candle for you as well, my little friend," said

she. "Your mother sits and works till late in the night; she can use

it!"

 

The little daughter of the house stood close by, and when she heard

the words "late in the night," she said with great delight, "I also

shall stay up till late in the night! We shall have a ball, and I

shall wear My big red sash!;" How her face shone! that was with joy!

No wax-candle can shine like two childish eyes!

 

"That is a blessing to see," thought the tallow-candle; "I shall

never forget it, and I shall certainly never see it again."

 

And so it was laid in the basket, under the lid, and the boy went

away with it.

 

"Where shall I go now?" thought the candle; "I shall go to poor

people, and perhaps not even get a brass candlestick, while the wax-

candle sits in silver and sees all the grand people. How lovely it

must be to shine for the grand people! but it was my lot to be tallow

and not way!"

 

And so the candle came to poor people, a widow with three children,

in a little, low room, right opposite the rich house.

 

"God bless the good lady for her gifts," said the mother, "what a

lovely candle that is! it can burn till late in the night."

 

And then the candle was lighted.

 

"Fut, foi," it said, "what a horrid-smelling match that was she

lighted me with! the wax-candle over in the rich house would not have

such treatment offered to it."

 

There also the candles were lighted: they shone, out across the

street; the carriages rolled up with the elegant ball-guests and the

music played.

 

"Now they begin across there," the tallow-candle noticed, and thought

of the beaming face of the rich little girl, more sparkling than all

the wax-lights. "That sight I shall never see again!"

 

Then the smallest of the children in the poor house, a little girl,

came and took her brother and sister round the neck: she had

something very important to tell them, and it must be whispered. "To-

night we shall have just think!—To-night we shall have hot potatoes!"

 

And her face shone with happiness: the tallow-candle shone right into

it, and it saw a gladness, a happiness as great as over in the rich

house, where the little girl said, "We shall have a ball to-night,

and I shall wear my big red sash!"

 

"It is just as much to get hot potatoes," thought the candle. "Here

there is just as much joy amongst the children." And it sneezed at

that; that is to say, it spattered; a tallow-candle can do no more.

 

The table was laid, and the potatoes eaten. Oh, how good they tasted!

it was a perfect feast, and each one got an apple besides, and the

smallest child said the little verse:

 

"Thou good God, I give thanks to Thee

 

That Thou again bast nourished me. Amen!"

 

"Was that not nicely said, Mother?" broke out the little one.

 

"You must not ask that again," said the mother; "you must think only

of the good God who has fed you."

 

The little ones went to bed, got a kiss and fell asleep at once, and

the mother sat and sewed late into the night to get the means of

support for them and for herself. And over from the big house the

lights shone and the music sounded. The stars shone over all the

houses, over the rich and over the poor, equally clear and blessed.

 

"This has really been a delightful evening!" thought the tallow-

candle. "I wonder if the wax-candles had it any better in the silver

candlestick? I would like to know that before I am burn burned out."

 

And it thought of the two happy ones, the one lighted by the wax-

candle, and the other by the tallow-candle.

 

A STORY BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON

 

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YES! DEAR SOULS! each of one of us has the ability to 'shine' in our

own little way -

 

as you will notice, both candles (the bog wax candle and the small

tallow candle ) brought 'light' into the lives of two little girls,

one rich land the other poor... but the smiles on their faces were of

equal radiance and the eyes shone with the same brightness!

 

i remember in india, during deepavali, the rich people will always

light up their whole house with electric lights , the middle class

people with wax candles and the poor with earthen lamps ! but , the

illumination from all these lights were the same and they were all

pretty ! in the case of a power failure, the electric light bulbs

would go out! the wax candles will also be burned out once the wax

melts but the earthen lamp as long there is 'oil' in it will burn for

a long time!

 

bhakti is like the earthen lamp -it is continous as long as you pour

the oil , it will be enduring!

 

yes, dear ones ! let us make a difference in the lives of all those

whose lives we touch!

 

 

so, we all can make a difference in the life of someone , however big

or however small!