"The Hay Isn't Always Greener on the Other Side."
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| (Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Web source) |
Dominick Wilkerson, as a young man of 16, agreed to work as a farm hand for a poor farmer. “I can’t pay you much” stated the farmer “but I’ll do my best”. At first, the boy was grateful. He exclaimed to his mother, “I’ll bring home the weekly bread”! Soon enough however, he became frustrated with his meager restitution. On his 21st birthday, Dominick decided by the end of his next full turn around the sun, he’d be working somewhere else, making a much higher salary and the little farm would be long gone.
He began to keep his eye out for any opportunity to leave the old farm. He searched for a while, his efforts apparently in vain. Then one day, “finally!” he thought, an opportunity came. A big corporate warehouse in the next town over was searching for someone they could bring over. “In need of a strong young lad that will work very hard.” the ad read, “He should be good with his hands and not bothered by occasional dirty work in the yard.” Dominick was sure he was perfect for the job, so he set up an interview to talk with the boss.
The interview came and things seemed to go well. The boss said he was impressed and asked him to come back the next week for interview two. Dominick agreed and went straight to the farmer. “I’m quitting this job for 3 times the salary of a farmer” he said. With no notice or warning, he left the poor man with no farm hand. Too old and feeble to do much work himself, the farmer would be in quite a rough spot if he didn’t find some help.
The following week, when he returned for his interview, Dominick received some bad news. The director had decided to promote from within and cut out a position, so there was no need to hire him. Dominick returned to the old farmer, wanting to resume his job at the little man’s side. “No thank you Dominick. I have found someone else. She is grateful for the salary and occasional spare grain and most import she’s promised she won’t leave me high and dry again."
Author's note. I chose a story with a generic message that I believe is very important in live. Basically, don't depend on something that hasn't happened yet. The story "The Milkmaid and her Pail" is about a milkmaid that gets a little too ahead of herself on the way to market. She begins daydreaming about what she will do with the money she gets from selling her milk, which she is carrying on her head. As she fantasizes about snubbing another woman because of her fortune, she accidentally pours all of the milk out of her pail. The young milkmaid made a mistake that many people make on a regular basis; she allowed money to drive her actions which resulted in an unpleasant end result for her, so I found the story relatable and felt there were a lot of directions I could go with it. Honestly, who can truthfully say that money doesn't at least in some way drive their everyday thought process and actions? I doubt there are many! I chose to write about a poor farmer and his ungrateful farm hand, because I live on a farm and have been around a lot of the work that goes into farming and I have seen many people take for granted the work that goes into the upkeep of a farm. Finally, I thought a woman taking over the job Dominick threw away for a "possibility" that didn't pan out would add the ultimate humility to the story.
Bibliography. "The Milkmaid and her Pail" in Fables of Aesop by Aesop.
Your Dominick character started out so sympathetic, Chrystal... but when he left the farmer with no notice or warning, I was thinking that he might have some rough karma ahead: and so he did! The milkmaid in the story you started with was just foolish, but with Dominick there was even more to the story: if you believe in the Golden Rule of "do unto others," then Dominick should have thought more carefully about he treated his old boss before latching on to a new one. That came through really clearly in your version of the story, along with such a good summary of the original story too so we could see how you developed the story in your own powerful new way. And what you say about farm work is so true: it is hard work, and you can't let things slide — the success of the farm depends on hard and steady work. The old farmer understood that, but it was a lesson Dominick had not learned... yet! But maybe he will make wiser decisions next time, lesson learned. :-)
ReplyDeleteChrystal, your story was hilarious. I believe an accurate word would be ironic. Despite good intentions in the beginning Dominick really got the short end of the stick because of his attitude. I love how you brought the fable into a modern setting, making it more accessible to people while not taking away from the original lesson. Great job, your story was delightfully witty and kept me interested from beginning to end. I can't wait to read more from your talented hands.
ReplyDeleteThank you Carol. :)
DeleteI really enjoyed your story for two reasons. It was clear, concise writing and you created a new way to express a great theme. Every part you added into your story was needed without any unnecessary fluff. It was smart how you added the part about his job being taken by a woman to add the humiliation. I can relate to what you said about money driving many decisions in life. As a college student, I constantly worry about the money I spend. It's a good reminder that I need to be wary of how money influences my decisions. Great story!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
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