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How The Path Was Forged
One day, a calf needed to cross a virgin forest in order to return to
its pasture. Being an irrational animal, it forged out a tortuous path
full of bends, up and down hills.
The next day, a dog came by and used the same path to cross the
forest. Next it was a sheep's turn, the head of a flock which, upon
finding the opening, led its companions through it.
Later, men began using the path: they entered and left, turned to
the right, to the left, bent down, deviating obstacles, complaining
and cursing - and quite rightly so. But they did nothing to create a
different alternative.
After so much use, in the end, the path became a trail along which
poor animals toiled under heavy loads, being forced to go three
hours to cover a distance which would normally take thirty minutes,
had no one chosen to follow the route opened up by the calf.
Many years passed and the trail became the main road of a village,
and later the main avenue of a town. Everyone complained about
the traffic, because the route it took was the worst possible one.
Meanwhile, the old and wise forest laughed, at seeing how men
tend to blindly follow the way already open, without ever asking
whether it really is the best choice.
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The Alchemist
The boy’s name was Santiago. Dusk was falling as the boy
arrived with his herd at an abandoned church. The roof had
fallen in long ago, and an enormous sycamore had grown on
the spot where the sacristy had once stood.
He decided to spend the night there. He saw to it that all the
sheep entered through the ruined gate, and then laid some
planks across it to prevent the flock from wandering away
during the night. There were no wolves in the region, but once
an animal had strayed during the night, and the boy had had
to spend the entire next day searching for it.
He swept the floor with his jacket and lay down, using the
book he had just finished reading as a pillow. He told himself
that he would have to start reading thicker books: they lasted
longer, and made more comfortable pillows.
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