Once upon a time there was a young man lost in the desert. He was indeed very thirsty and the water in his flask had already run out two days ago. He knew that if he didn't get some water soon, he would surely die.
With little hope in his mind, he started walking in a random direction and to his surprise saw a small hut ahead of him. He thought it would be a mirage or maybe a hallucination, but having no other option, he moved toward it. As he got closer, he realized it was quite real and hence dragged his exhausted body to the door of the hut with the last of his strength.
It was an old hut standing alone somewhere in the middle of the widespread desert and seemed like it had been abandoned for quite a long time. Soon as the man entered the hut his tired eyes started looking for water everywhere.
In absolute randomness of a thought he again looked all around the hut. As he turned around, he noticed a bottle lying at another corner of the hut. It was filled with water and corked up to prevent evaporation. With a feeling of joy manifesting in his heart, he rushed to grab the bottle and
uncorked it to gulp down the life-saving water. But before he could do so, he noticed a piece of paper attached to the bottle having a handwritten message on it. It read, "Use this water to start the hand pump. Don't forget to fill the bottle when you are done."
He now had two options and was in a big time dilemma. He could follow the instruction and pour the water into the pump, or he could ignore it and just drink the water. What to do? If he let the water go into the pump, what assurance did he have that it would work? What if the pump malfunctioned? What if the pipe had a leak? What if the underground reservoir had long dried up?
But then... maybe the instruction was correct. Should he risk it? If it turned out to be false, he would be throwing away the last water he would ever see. Hands trembling, he poured the water into the pump. Then he closed his eyes, said a prayer, and started working the pump. He did not know if his action would be rewarded, but he proceeded regardless. Without knowing what to expect, he made a leap of faith. Soon he heard a gurgling sound, and water came gushing out, more than he could possibly use. He luxuriated in the cool and refreshing stream. He was going to live!
After having enough water and feeling much better, he looked around the hut. He found a pencil and a map of the region. The map showed that he was still far away from civilization, but at least now he knew where he was and which direction to go. He filled his flask for the journey ahead. He also filled the bottle and put the cork back in. Before leaving the hut, he added his own writing below the instruction: "Believe me, it works!"
With little hope in his mind, he started walking in a random direction and to his surprise saw a small hut ahead of him. He thought it would be a mirage or maybe a hallucination, but having no other option, he moved toward it. As he got closer, he realized it was quite real and hence dragged his exhausted body to the door of the hut with the last of his strength.
It was absolutely astonishing for him to find a water hand pump installed at one of the corners of the old hut. the hand pump had a long pipe running down through the floor, perhaps tapping the source of water deep underground. ith all the leftover strength that the man had, he began working the hand pump; but no water came out. He still kept pumping but nothing seemed to work and all the efforts to quench his thirst were in vain. Exhausted and frustrated, he finally gave up. It looked as if he was going to die afterall. With a feeling of hopelessness and tears rolling down, he threw up his hands in despair. Nothing seemed to make sense in this time of difficulty.
uncorked it to gulp down the life-saving water. But before he could do so, he noticed a piece of paper attached to the bottle having a handwritten message on it. It read, "Use this water to start the hand pump. Don't forget to fill the bottle when you are done."
He now had two options and was in a big time dilemma. He could follow the instruction and pour the water into the pump, or he could ignore it and just drink the water. What to do? If he let the water go into the pump, what assurance did he have that it would work? What if the pump malfunctioned? What if the pipe had a leak? What if the underground reservoir had long dried up?
But then... maybe the instruction was correct. Should he risk it? If it turned out to be false, he would be throwing away the last water he would ever see. Hands trembling, he poured the water into the pump. Then he closed his eyes, said a prayer, and started working the pump. He did not know if his action would be rewarded, but he proceeded regardless. Without knowing what to expect, he made a leap of faith. Soon he heard a gurgling sound, and water came gushing out, more than he could possibly use. He luxuriated in the cool and refreshing stream. He was going to live!
After having enough water and feeling much better, he looked around the hut. He found a pencil and a map of the region. The map showed that he was still far away from civilization, but at least now he knew where he was and which direction to go. He filled his flask for the journey ahead. He also filled the bottle and put the cork back in. Before leaving the hut, he added his own writing below the instruction: "Believe me, it works!"
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