The future lies before you

A man had invited his friends to supper and the lady of the house was cooking for them. Suddenly, she realised that she had run out of salt.

So she called to her son and said, 'Go to the village and buy some salt, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much nor too little.'

The son was surprised.

'I can understand why I shouldn’t pay too much for it mother, but if I can bargain them down, why not save a bit of money?'

The lady said, ‘The only reason a man would sell salt more cheaply than usual would be because he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect for the sweat and struggle of the man who labored to produce it. And it could destroy a small village like ours.'

'But such a small thing couldn't possibly destroy a village?' The son looked at her for more explanation.

The mother explained, 'In the beginning, there was only a small amount of injustice in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking that it was only very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today.'

Little drops of water, little grains of sand
Make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land
Little injustices, small though they be,
Make the mighty world dark and gloomy