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A letter to God A folktale from Mexico

A folktale from Mexico
Last Updated 16 February 2012, 15:29 IST

There once lived a prosperous farmer in central Mexico. His farm produced the best corn and wheat in the country and that fetched him a lot of money in the market.

But there came years when there were no rains. The land grew dry and the farmer became poor. In fact, he became so poor that he had no money to buy even a loaf of bread for his family. The desperate man turned to friends but they were as poor as he was. He felt depressed and helpless.

One morning he woke up early to walk through his fields. The parched land made him weep. He fell to his knees and called out to God.

“Oh, Great God! I am a good, honest and hardworking man. You know that! But how could you punish me like this? If you could just help me a bit…ummm, send me a thousand pesos to begin with, I will be okay. I promise I will work hard and be rich once again. I know you will not let me down!”

When he got no response to his plea, he decided to write a letter to God with his request. With childlike eagerness, he handed his postcard to the postmaster and went home convinced that God would help.

The postmaster read the letter addressed to God. He was both amused and touched by it. Being a good man, he wanted to help the farmer. He showed the letter to his colleagues at the post office. They too were impressed by the farmer’s faith. Hence, they all pulled out their wallets and emptied them on a table.

When the postmaster counted the money, it added up to 800 pesos. He put it in an envelope and sealed it. On the cover he wrote “From God in Heaven” and below that he wrote the farmer’s address before sending with a postman. He felt happy with himself.

The farmer was ecstatic. His God had not let him down. He quickly opened the envelope and counted the money. Though 200 pesos less than what he had asked for he was nevertheless very grateful for the divine help. He pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote out his letter of thanks.

Dear God,

Thank you very much for your help. I knew you would never let your believers down. I will now be able to come out of this bad situation. I hope I never have to bother you again.

Thank you once again.

Your faithful follower, Mario

PS: If ever I need money, please send it directly to me. I do not trust the men in the post office. I am sure you had sent me a thousand pesos and I suspect the postmaster must have pocketed a couple of hundreds. Never did trust those chaps to be honest.

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(Published 16 February 2012, 15:29 IST)

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