THE LAST STRAW
As Christmas approaches, I always go back to some of the ageless Christmas stories I grew up with. Yes, there is Charles Dickens’s popular classic – ‘A Christmas Carol’… and there is O’ Henry’s immortal tale – ‘Gift of the Magi’. It would be very difficult to erase these imprints from my mind… They will, forever, remain etched there… Yes, making Christmas a little more inspiring, each year!
One more Christmas fable comes to
my mind, today…Fredrick Thury’s – ‘The Last Straw’.
The hero of this story is Hoshmakaka.
Translated it into our ethos, it means Hoshma uncle! He is an old, tired and
sick camel… with painful knee-joints and grumpiness. Still, like many of us, he has a false a pride… which makes him get carried away easily by praises of
those around.
One day,
Hoshmakaka hears through the desert a voice that he is chosen to carry gifts of
the Wise-men to the new-born King… the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Hoshmakaka knows in his heart that
it is too long and tedious a mission… and he is too old, tired and sick to
carry it out. Yet, when the voice keeps prodding him with the lure that it is a
‘great honor’ and not a ‘great burden’, our Hoshmakaka, finally says ‘Yes’.
A new vigor
enters his heart and Hoshmakaka sets out on his long journey across the
burning-by-the-day and freezing-by-the-night deserts. “I have the strength of
ten horses, you know,” he boasts before the young camels along his way. The
young camels know, how foolish the old Hoshmakaka can be… that they keep goading
him, keep pumping. Carried away by all this misplaced praise, Hoshmakaka keeps
accepting more and more load on his back along the long journey. Men, women and
children – all keep giving him more and more presents to carry to the new-born King,
the baby Jesus… and, Hoshmakaka doesn’t refuse anyone!
The load on the
back keeps mounting… and Hoshmakaka has, now, come to the breaking point… He is
unable to carry it any further… He is about to come on his knees, any moment!
And, this is the
time, when a little child offers him the last gift to be carried to baby Jesus:
a little straw for baby’s bed!
“No, I can’t
take any more,” Hoshmakaka cries in frustration. Then, he relents… He accepts
the last gift – the last straw – for baby Jesus and reaches the stable in Bethlehem… On reaching
there, he simply collapses… but not before he is touched by the tender hand of
baby Jesus… Not before the false pride and foolishness go away to make way for
humility and wisdom...
Hoshmakaka realizes what a great blessing
the journey had
been…
How special he was, in deed!
And, that is
also the moment, when the grumpiness and gloom go away from Hoshmakaka – ‘the chosen
one’!
The Last Straw
has brought Hoshmakaka to his knees…
And, it is for
his good!
This
is the story for me… this Christmas…
This is the ‘gift’ I am told to
carry to you, today!
GERALD D’CUNHA
Pics. Mukesh Ahuja
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