Happiness and Other Small Things of Absolute Importance by Haim Shapira

Author:Haim Shapira
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Happiness and Other Small Things of Absolute Importance
ISBN: 9781780289670
Publisher: Watkins Media
Published: 2016-07-04T16:00:00+00:00

How Much Land Does a Man Need? (based very freely on a Tolstoy story)

Boris Landovsky had a strange hobby. He loved to collect land. He already had plenty of territory, but remember: a desire cannot be satisfied. Boris even used to joke about his passion: ‘I don’t need all the land in the world. I just want the plots that border on mine,’ he would tell his friends. And he would smile, pleased with himself.

One day he rose earlier than usual and set out to find a place where he could buy plenty of land for the lowest price possible. Yet, even though he started out early and was in the mood for shopping, it was not a good day. The land he found was either not good enough, or too expensive, or not for sale. At noon, having bought nothing, he decided to go for a drink in a village pub.

As he sat there, gloomy and sad, three bearded Chechens approached him. They wanted to sell their plot and heard he was buying. ‘We have a lot of land, and the soil is good too, and our price is quite low,’ the bearded Chechens said.

‘Where is your land?’ Boris asked, and a spark of excitement appeared in his eye.

‘A 15-minute walk from here,’ the Chechens estimated.

‘Shall we?’ Boris suggested.

After a 15-minute walk, the three Chechens and Mr Landovsky arrived at a magnificent field, spreading green and wide as far as the eye could see.

‘What do you want for this land?’ the merchant inquired.

‘Well, the deal is quite simple,’ the Chechens said. ‘You give us 100 roubles, and then you have till sunset to choose the size of the plot you want. You do that by simply walking around it. Whatever land you encircle by foot … is yours. There is, however, just one very strict rule: you must make a full circle while the sun is in the sky. If you fail to return to your starting point by sunset, you lose your money.’

‘You can’t be serious?’ Boris said, sceptically.

‘Chechens are always serious,’ they said very seriously.

‘So why am I wasting time? Here’s your 100 roubles. May I start walking now?’

‘Go right ahead,’ they said.

Mr Landovsky set off. ‘I’ve never made such a wonderful deal,’ he thought. ‘I’d better make the best of it.’ After walking for a minute or two, he started running. This was a rare opportunity, since all he had to do was make a circle around the plot he desired in order to make the most of it. The serious, bearded Chechens watched him as he ran farther and farther away from them, and Mr Landovsky looked up to make sure the sun was in the right place. It was well above him.

He kept running. He ran and ran, and there was only one thought in his head: ‘I must run just a little more, I must not waste a piece of land here. I’m sure I’ll make it to the starting point on time. What would be a good time to start running back? Not now.

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