Dear friends,
This is a story about a boy and his sandcastle.
Once upon a time there was a boy named Leo who lived near a beautiful beach.
For his 10th birthday Leo asked his parents for 10 sand buckets.
His parents were very poor.
They had hardly enough money to buy food for their family and they tried to convince Leo that he didn't need 10 sand buckets.
One or two should be enough.
But Leo kicked up such a rumpus that they finally gave in and they bought him the 10 sand buckets that he insisted on having.
Leo boasted to his friends that he would build the most amazing sandcastle ever.
It would have 10 tall towers and it would be surrounded by a deep moat.
The very next day he got down to work.
He built his castle on a beautiful flat stretch of beach.
The castle had a drawbridge made of driftwood.
It had windows made from shells.
Leo made flags from seaweed and he hung the flags up on each of the 10 towers.
His friends came by and they were full of praise for him.
Leo that's the best sandcastle we've ever seen.
You are amazing.
Leo was chuffed with all the praise.
He put up a big sign beside the castle.
It read Keep away by order of King Leo.
Anyone who interferes with my work will be in big trouble.
That night Leo went to bed.
He dreamed of his castle and his kingdom.
In his dream he was interviewed by reporters.
They wanted to know how had he managed to build such a castle.
They asked him would he go on television and would he write a book about the project.
All was well in Leo's world.
The next morning Leo couldn't wait to get down to the beach.
I hope nobody has come near my castle he muttered.
When he got to the beach he looked up and down and he couldn't believe his eyes.
His amazing castle was nowhere to be seen.
All that remained was a faded notice.
It was drifting in and out with the tide,
Warning people to keep away.
Leo and his amazing sandcastle.
Is there a hopeful lesson that we can take from that sad story?
It reminds us that all human pride,
Power and ambition,
No matter how strong it seems,
Will fade.
All it needs is the passage of time and we all know how quickly time passes.
Namaste
