There once was a pacifist who stepped into a puddle.

"Oh what trouble!" he exclaimed. "My feet are now wet. What should I do?"

And there he stood.

A woman passed by and he called out to her, "Woman, I stepped in this puddle, now my feet are wet! What should I do?" The woman stood there, hands on her hips, and replied, "Now why would you go and do a thing like that?"

An attorney also saw the man's plight and cried out, "Puddles should be illegal on sidewalks!"

There also came a preacher who approached the growing crowd and said, "My son, why do you look so dismayed? Don't you know the Lord is coming?"

The man explained, "I stepped in this puddle and my feet are now soaked. What should I do, preacher?"

The preacher thought a moment, and said with a sigh, "Well, child, in times such as these, I simply say, 'Dig a little deeper, and do the best you can.'"

"Why thank you, preacher!" the man exclaimed. "That's excellent advice indeed!"

So the man looked to dig. But the gravel was rough and he wouldn't use his hands. He was a pacifist.

"Woman, bring me a shovel!" he called out.

The woman returned with a spade. She handed it to him with a smile and said, "Isn't that preacher wonderful?"

The man began to dig. He did the best he could, standing there in the puddle. As the sweat glistened on his brow, he thought of Adam in Genesis, saying, "What glorious labor to work the soil as Lord directed!" And he chipped and stabbed at that nasty puddle, digging deeper and deeper, until finally, the hole was so big that the puddle was no more.

"Success!" he exclaimed. "The puddle is no more! It is all gone!"

Applause and cheering erupted overhead. When a little boy yelled, "So are you!" a woman's voice chided, "Be quiet, you imp! The preacher is wise!"

As the man's victory delight waned, he stood there gazing at the walls of dirt around him.

"Well then," he assessed.

So he decided it wise to seek advice once more. He called out, "Gentlemen, it appears I have another problem!"

"What's wrong?" came a voice above.

"I'm stuck in a hole," he said.

"Yes but you built the hole. Didn't you give it stairs?" said the carpenter.

"I did not," the pacifist replied. "There's no way out! I'm doomed! Is the preacher still there?"

The people looked around and murmured, "Where is the preacher?" Finally the verdict was declared, "He left."

The pacifist stood there feeling dejected. Then he realized something. "I'll keep digging!" he shouted. "I didn't even do my best yet!"

So he dug down deep and did the best he could.

The hours passed by and people went back to their homes. The attorney left thinking to himself, "I'm certain this sidewalk digging is in violation of some jurisdictional code, but this fellow is in quite the predicament. Surely there is a loophole somewhere."

Night came. After dinner, while the woman reclined on her sofa, she thought about the pacifist digging outside. A brilliant idea came to her. So she hurried outside and called down to the pacifist, "Do you need a lamp?"

"Woman, you are a genius! Why didn't I think of that? I ought to marry you someday," exclaimed the pacifist.

Giggling at the praise, the woman hurried away to fetch a lamp. A few moments later, she dangled it overhead and said, "I'll drop it down to you. Catch!"

"Ready!" he replied. He caught the lamp. He set it down.

"Oh no," he said.

"What's the matter? Doesn't it work?" the woman said.

"It works," replied the pacifist, "but I didn't realize how deep I am!"

The woman said nothing.

"Take it back! I don't want to know this! Leave me alone in the darkness to die a miserable death! Woe is me! Woe is me!" cried the pacifist, and he threw the lamp back up to the woman.

She caught it and then called down to him, "It's better to light a lamp than to curse the darkness."

"Woman, you are not helping!" he yelled.

"I'm so sorry," said the woman. "And I thought you were cute. But I'm sure you'll find who you're looking for." And she returned to bed with her lamp.

The pacifist truly was defeated now. Feeling betrayed by the church and womankind, he called up to God, "Lord, why did you do this to me? Why did you bring me to this? What did I ever do to you to deserve this total ruin? Why Lord, why?"

But the Lord didn't answer.

The next morning, a butterfly sitting on his face woke him. "Butterfly, messenger of God, what news do you bring to me, a miserable wretch in a hole?" thought the pacifist.

The butterfly alighted upon the handle of the shovel.

Groaning, the man said, "I tried that, little butterfly, and it didn't work!"

Years passed.

The pacifist's gray beard became reddened by the clay. He realized now that he was too old for love, too weak to dig, and too cynical to smile.

But in his heart, he learned the most valuable lesson of all: never let society guide you.

The End

GXV, October 20, 2024