The Wise Servant

How lucky the master is when he has a wise servant who listens to his orders but does not obey them, instead following his own clever ideas. A smart boy named John was once sent by his master to find a lost cow.

He was gone for a long time, and the master thought, "Faithful John is really working hard!" But when John didn't come back at all, the master worried something bad had happened and went to look for him.

He searched for a while and finally saw the boy running back and forth across a big field. "Now, dear John," said the master when he reached him, "did you find the cow I sent you to look for?" "No, master," John answered.

"I didn't find the cow, but then again I didn't look for it." "Then what were you looking for, John?" "Something better, and luckily I found it." "What is that, John?" "Three blackbirds," the boy said. "And where are they?" asked the master.

"I can see one of them, I can hear another, and I'm running after the third," answered the wise boy. Take example from this: don't worry about your master or his orders. Instead, do what comes into your head and pleases you. Then you will act just as wisely as clever John.