Nong lived with his family in a small

village in Southeast Asia. Like most

people in their village, Nongs family
were farmers. The villagers had their
houses next to their fields on the wide
plain, except for Nongs family, whose
house stood alone on top of a hill.
Since Nongs familys fields were on
the plain below like everybody elses, his
mother and father had to go up and
down the hill every day to work the
fields. During the harvest they had to
bring the harvested rice up the hill to
their storehouse. And because the school
was also down on the plain, Nong had to
go down the hill to school every morning
and climb back up the hill to go home
every evening.
Nong viva con su familia en una aldea
del Sudeste Asitico. Como la mayora de
los aldeanos, su familia se dedicaba a la
agricultura. Los campesinos tenan su
vivienda junto a los campos de la llanura.
Todos, menos la familia de Nong, cuya
casa se alzaba en la cima de una colina.
Como los campos de la familia de
Nong estaban en la llanura junto a los de
los dems, a diario el padre y la madre
tenan que subir y bajar de la colina para
trabajar. En la poca de la cosecha
llevaban el arroz cosechado a un
cobertizo donde lo almacenaban en lo
alto de la colina. La escuela tambin
quedaba en la llanura, y Nong tena que
bajar cada maana para ir a clase y
regresaba al atardecer.
One day Nong talked to his father about
this. Its not fair. I have to walk up and
down the hill every day, but my friends
dont. Why do we have to live up here on
the hill?
Nongs father thought about this for a
while before he answered. Im not sure
why we live here on the hill. Our house has
stood here for many generations. Im
thankful for our little house up here. Think
of it this way: We are the first to see the
sun come up in the morning and the last to
see it set in the evening.
But this didnt mean much to Nong.
But we have to work so much harder than
everyone else. And I have to walk much
further than my friends. Its not fair!
Oh, but we shouldnt say that, Nongs
father replied. God has given us this place
and we should be thankful for it.
Yet Nong was not convinced. He wished
he could live down on the plain.
Un da, Nong habl con su padre: -No
hay derecho. Todos los das tengo que
subir y bajar la colina. Mis amigos no
tienen que hacerlo. Por qu vivimos
aqu arriba?
Su padre reflexion antes
de responderle: -No s bien por qu
viviremos aqu arriba. Nuestra casa existe
desde hace generaciones. Yo me alegro
de vivir aqu. Pero mira, somos los
primeros que vemos salir el sol y los
ltimos que lo vemos ponerse.
Esta respuesta, sin embargo, no
signific mucho para Nong, que replic:
-Pero tenemos que trabajar ms que
nadie. Y tengo que recorrer ms distancia
que mis amigos. No es justo!
El padre contest: -No digas eso. Dios
nos ha dado este lugar y tenemos que
estar contentos.
Nong no qued convencido. Deseaba
vivir en la llanura.
One day not long after this
conversation, the clouds began to gather
in the sky over Nongs village. It was only
a few weeks after the rice harvest, and
so the villagers looked to the sky with
concern for the stored rice. And the
weather got only worse. The sky became
darker and darker. Then it happened. The
rains came down and wouldnt stop. It
rained and rained and rained. The houses
and fields in the plain were all flooded.
The harvest and stores of rice were lost.
Only Nongs house on top of the hill
was dry, so thats where all the villagers
fled. They were all thankful for Nongs
house on the hill, and they ate of the rice
that was stored there.
Now, Nongs father said to him with
a gentle look in his eye, are you thankful
for our house on the hill?
Nong smiled sheepishly and nodded.
Un da, no mucho tiempo despus de
aquella conversacin, comenzaron a juntarse
las nubes sobre la aldea de Nong. Haban
transcurrido unas cuantas semanas de la
recoleccin, y los aldeanos observaban el
cielo preocupados por el arroz almacenado.
El tiempo empeor. Los cielos se ponan cada
vez ms negros. Y llegaron las lluvias y no
paraban. Precipitaciones torrenciales y
continuas inundaron las casas y la llanura,
perdindose el arroz almacenado.
La nica vivienda que no se inund fue la
de Nong por su situacin elevada. All fueron
a refugiarse los aldeanos. Todos estaban muy
contentos por la casa de Nong. Y comieron el
arroz all guardado.
El padre de Nong le pregunt con una
tierna mirada: -Te alegras de que nuestra
casa est aqu arriba?
Nong sonri tmidamente y asinti con
la cabeza.
So often we complain about some hardship or are
tempted to feel that lifeand therefore God
isnt fair to us. But if we can accept whatever God
has allowed to come into our lives and be thankful
for it, one day we will see that He can turn our
seeming hardship or handicap into a lifesaver for
us and others.
Muchas veces nos quejamos de una dificultad o
pensamos que la vida -y por consiguiente,
tambin Dios en algunos casos- no nos tratan
bien. Pero si aceptamos con gratitud lo que l ha
permitido que nos ocurra, un da veremos que de
nuestra aparente penalidad o impedimento Dios
puede sacar algo que nos salve la vida a nosotros
o a otros.


Photo credits:
Page 1 Wikimedia Commons
Page 2 Ninara via Flickr
Page 3 European Commision DG Echo via Flickr
Page 4 Wikipedia
Story by Colin C. Bell, The Family International . Featured on www.freekidstories.org