Once upon a time, in a quiet little village, there lived a farmer named Arjun. He was a hardworking man, known for his dedication to his fields and his animals. Arjun had a beautiful farm that was the pride of the village. His crops grew tall and green, and his animals were well-fed and content. But among all his responsibilities, Arjun had a particular attachment to his fence, which surrounded his farm like a protective wall. The fence was made of sturdy wood and had been built years ago by Arjun’s father.
One sunny afternoon, while Arjun was tending to his crops, his young son Rohan came running up to him. “Father, there’s a hole in the fence near the back of the farm!” Rohan said breathlessly.
Arjun frowned. He had checked the fence just that morning, and everything had seemed fine. “Show me where the hole is, Rohan,” he said, wiping his hands on his trousers and following his son to the back of the farm.
Sure enough, when they reached the back, Arjun saw a small hole in the fence. It wasn’t very large, but it was big enough for a rabbit or a fox to slip through. Arjun sighed. “It’s just a small hole,” he said, kneeling down to inspect it. “I’ll fix it later. It’s not urgent.”
Rohan looked worried. “But Father, what if something gets through the hole and ruins the crops?”
Arjun smiled and ruffled his son’s hair. “Don’t worry, Rohan. It’s too small for anything to cause real damage. I’ll patch it up tomorrow.”
The next day, Arjun woke up early, as usual, and started his daily routine. But as he passed by the hole in the fence, he noticed that it had gotten a little bigger. Some of the boards around it were loose, and it looked as though something had tried to squeeze through during the night. Arjun frowned again but shrugged it off. “I’ll fix it later,” he thought. “Right now, I have more important things to do.”
Days passed, and Arjun kept putting off the repair. He was always too busy with the crops, the animals, or some other task that seemed more pressing. Every time he passed the hole, it seemed to have grown just a little bit larger, but still, he didn’t see it as a priority.
One morning, as Arjun was out in the fields, he heard a commotion coming from the barn. Chickens were squawking loudly, and his dog was barking furiously. Arjun dropped his tools and ran toward the sound, his heart pounding. When he reached the barn, he was met with a chaotic scene. Several of his chickens were missing, and there were feathers scattered all over the ground. A few crops near the barn had been trampled, and there were strange paw prints in the dirt.
Arjun’s mind raced. “How did this happen?” he muttered to himself. Then, a sinking feeling hit him. The hole in the fence.
He quickly ran to the back of the farm, where the hole had been, and to his dismay, he saw that it had grown much larger. The boards around it had been pushed aside, and the hole was now big enough for a fox—or worse, a wild boar—to squeeze through.
Arjun felt a pang of regret. If only he had fixed the hole when he first saw it. But now, it was too late. The damage had been done.
Over the next few days, more problems arose. Some of his vegetables were eaten, and the chickens continued to disappear. Arjun stayed up late at night, trying to catch the culprits, but he never saw anything. The hole in the fence had become a gateway for trouble, and it seemed that every night, some new animal took advantage of it.
Rohan, seeing his father’s distress, asked, “Father, why didn’t you fix the hole when it was small?”
Arjun sighed and looked at his son. “I was too busy,” he admitted. “I thought it was such a small problem that it could wait. But now I see that small problems don’t stay small if you ignore them.”
With renewed determination, Arjun gathered his tools and set out to repair the fence. He replaced the broken boards and reinforced the rest of the fence to make sure no more animals could get through. It took him the better part of the day, but by evening, the fence was as good as new.
That night, for the first time in weeks, Arjun slept peacefully. The farm was quiet, and when he woke up the next morning, there were no signs of any animals having entered his property. The crops were untouched, and the chickens were safe in their coop.
As Arjun and Rohan walked along the fence, inspecting his work, Rohan asked, “Father, will this fence be strong enough now?”
Arjun smiled and nodded. “Yes, it will be strong enough. But more importantly, I’ve learned a valuable lesson. It’s not enough to have a strong fence. I have to take care of it, and I have to fix problems when they’re small before they grow into bigger problems.”
From that day on, Arjun made sure to check the fence regularly and repair any damage immediately. And sure enough, the problems stopped. The farm flourished once again, and the animals were safe.
One evening, as Arjun and Rohan sat on the porch of their farmhouse, watching the sun set over the fields, Rohan asked, “Father, do you think the other farmers have holes in their fences too?”
Arjun thought for a moment and replied, “Perhaps they do, Rohan. Everyone has their own fences to maintain. But the important thing is to learn from our mistakes and make sure we don’t let small problems become big ones. Whether it’s a fence, a friendship, or any other part of life, we have to take care of it.”
Rohan nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll remember that, Father.”
As the days passed, word spread through the village about how Arjun had learned to mend not just his fence, but his approach to life. Other farmers began to take better care of their own farms, fixing problems when they were small and ensuring that their land was well-tended. Arjun’s wisdom became a source of inspiration, and the villagers often came to him for advice.
In the end, Arjun’s farm became more prosperous than ever, not just because of the crops he grew or the animals he raised, but because of the lesson he had learned: small problems, if left unattended, could grow into big disasters. And by addressing issues early and taking care of what mattered, peace and prosperity would follow.
MORAL: Don't ignore small problems, for they can grow into bigger challenges. Take care of things before they spiral out of control.
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