Meaning – Something good that isn’t recognized at first.
Once upon a time there lived a poor, old couple in a small village. They had a small field, which they ploughed to earn their living.
Every day, early morning the old man used to go to his field for work and later in afternoon his wife would bring him his food to eat. They both used to sit under the shade of the tree and relish the simple food with great joy.
Near their house there was a stray dog that often was fed by the old couple. The dog was very friendly with the old couple and in leisure time the old couple even chatted with him like a small child. Sometimes the dog even accompanied them to their felid and acted as their guardian.
After sometime a group of social workers came to the village. They came with the objective to guide people regarding few ailments in stray dogs that were becoming common and was a serious threat to humans too.
They suggested all the villagers to stay away from stray dogs. Even the old couple out of fear started to keep distance from the dog. They no longer allowed the dog to come inside their house or feed him on regular basis.
One day the old lady had gone to the fields to feed her husband during the day. She was annoyed with the dog as he was trying to enter inside the house time and again. In the field she shared her experience with the old man and explained how difficult, her life was becoming because of the dog.
When she returned to her house she found that their house was surrounded with policemen. Her heart sank seeing them; she rushed in to see blood spilled over the floor, with a gulp she took a step forward to find a man lying injured and blood oozing out of his foot.
By that time the old man too had reached home and on inquiring about the incident, they learned that a thief had broken in their house and it was because of the dog that he failed to steal anything.
The old couple realized that the dog whom they considered to be a threat was actually A blessing in disguise. If the dog did not share an affectionate bond with them and served as their guarding angle, the thief would have stolen all their rainy day savings. The lady realized that the dog sensed any threat towards them and hence was trying to warn them but she was unable to understand that situation.
©Ritanjali Hastir
