"The old man and his grandson"  By Husna Qayumi

 

Once upon a time in a small village there lived a single-father by the name Jakwa. Jakwa was popularly known as "Jak the Jolly" by the people of the village, as he was always in a good mood despite any situation. Jack loved his son Hansel. As he was his only person in the whole world. He took good care of his son and never let him feel the absence of a mother. One day while Hansel was having his soup from a bowl, he dropped it and it broke in to pieces. Poor Hansel started to cry.

 

But his father soon came to console him. "Oh, my son! It is absolutely fine!" His father said. Time passed and Hansel grew up to be a handsome man. Every one in the village called him Hansel the Handsome. However, Jack was now known as "Jack the old". He had grown old and weak and the jolliness in him was fading away. But Hansel took good care of him and would make sure he was always by his father's side whenever he needed him. Days passed and Hansel soon fell in love with a girl called "Elsie"! They loved each other so much that they decided to get married. Soon, with the blessings of Jack, Hansel and Elsie got married. Jack was very happy for his son, but he was unaware of what was coming his way. As a few months passed, Elsie stared to show her true colors. She started to draw Hansel away from his father. And soon, Hansel was a changed man.

 

All the love and respect he had had for his father, gradually diminished as he got more attached to his wife. Elsie would control Hansel and ensured that he fulfilled her whims and fancies. And thus, Elsie managed to take Hansel away from his own father. She wanted her husband all to herself and started behaving rudely with Jack. This influenced Hansel as well as he stopped wishing for the well-being of his father. And soon Jack started to feel lonelier and more detached from his son. He had no one to talk to and share his emotions with. A year passed and Elsie gave birth to a son-whom they named Harry. Harry brought a lease of new life for Jack. He would play with Harry and take good care of him like he used to of Jack. But Elsie did not like the closeness of Harry and his grandfather. Elsie nodded as she realized that Hansel was right. She could not possibly take care of the daily chores and little Harry all by herself.

 

Eight years passed by since Harry was born and Jack the old grew older and weaker. His eyes became dim, his ears dull of hearing and his hands and knees trembled. His grandson was the only reason that kept him going. Soon Jack's situation worsened. His hands would tremble so much that he could not hold the spoon properly while eating. One day while sitting at the dining table he could hardly hold the spoon and spilt the broth upon the table-cloth. This made the uncompassionate Elsie furious. Hansel tried to console his wife. And made the decision that from the next day onwards, Jack will sit at the dining table no more. And so from the next day Jack had to sit in the corner behind the stove. He was served food in the earthenware bowl, but Jack's hand trembled and the bowl fell from his hand and smashed into pieces. Elsie come running to the

kitchen. But Jack said nothing and only sighed looking at the broken pieces of the bowl with tears. Meanwhile, little Harry would watch all of this from a corner.

 

Harry saw all the cruelty of his mother to his grandfather. One day Jack died. And years passed. Harry grew up and his mom grew old. And Harry did all the cruelty that his mother did to his grandfather. That his mother understood that she had not done his grandfather right. And she accepted his son's cruelty, because she understood that she did not treat his grandfather with the respect and dignity he deserved.