The Stove

January 10, 2019

There was once a man who had built his house with his own hands. In this house lived his family. In the summers the house was sometimes too hot. In the winters, the house was at times a bit cold. But it was a house which his family lived. He would tell them to wear shorts in the summer. And to have a warm blanket in the winter. In this house they were happy.

One day, a friendly stranger had heard of his and many other stories. the stranger offers him a new way of keeping his house comfortable. A stove that promises to keep his main room warm. The man, after some harsh winters and summer days did not hesitate to take this offer. For a time in the spring this house was wonderful. His family was comfortable. The days were warm and the nights a pleasant cool. The birds sang songs outside the window. The summer came. Here the man tried to turn off the stove, but for it to work it needed to keep a flame at all times. The man thought that while a mild inconvenience, he could open the windows. And for a time, only the main room was too hot. But the man kept the windows open and his family avoided the main room.

The fall came and again it was pleasant in the home. The man noticed that one of the windows would not shut fully. But it was of no consequence. It was in a corner and no one would mind. Besides, putting more logs to the flame would even out the temperature. As the winter snows came, he noticed that the birds no longer came to the windows. He knew that the stove left some smoke and maybe that drove the birds away. But, a small price to pay for the comfort his family now enjoyed. Soon the nights were long and cold. The wind blew through the open window so the man put more logs to the stove. Again and again. His house was warm. There were no longer any bird songs but, “In the harshness of the winters night, that is of little consequence to the comfort of my family”, he thought.

Soon the spring came. The birds did not sing their songs but, the mans family had lived out the winter in comfort. As the days became warmer, he wanted to lower the flame of the stove. But the fires in the winter burned so hot that the flame did not go down quickly. Summer now came and the house was very warm. But again he opened the windows. He figured that when the time came he could get the windows repaired. “Maybe,” he thought, “I might look at getting a better stove.”

As the fall came again, another window did not close. He looked into repairing the window as he had told himself. But the repairs might take some time and he did not have the money. He had to purchase more wood for the stove since the last winter was so harsh. So the windows remained open. He put in more wood and the house was comfortable.

Again in the winter, the winds blew. Again the man stoked the flames more and more. Keeping his house warm. No one went near the windows but thats ok. The comfort of the stove was more inviting than having to deal with some stubborn windows. And so this process continued. Season after season repeating much of the same. As the man had bought so much wood, it became more and more expensive to keep his house warm. “Maybe I should get a better stove, one that doesn’t need so much to keep the house warm. “ he thought. But it was expensive. “The savings on the wood would equal out the cost of the new stove.” he thought. As he thought more and more about this he came across the friendly stranger again. The stranger was dressed in nice clothes, for he had sold many stoves over the years. The stranger talked to the man about his dilemma. The stranger, having sold so many stoves, worried if others were having the same problems. He worried that they might all want to change out his stoves. But, the stranger had an idea. He told the man about a new fuel he could use. One that burned twice as hot and cost half as much. Hearing this how could the man refuse.

The man with his new fuel went back to his house and the spring turned to summer and the summer to fall and then winter. The cycle continued for the man. The man knew that even with this new fuel, he could not go on forever like this. The windows of the house would no longer shut, and the cost to replace them all was far too great now. The winters were now harsher but he could burn twice as much fuel and still not be spending the cost of a whole new stove. Besides, he had more important things to worry about. The vegetables in his garden were looking sickly and the crops he grew were growing poorly. Because of this, his children were becoming hungry. He resolved to keep his stove and its fuel, and would focus on bettering the crops that paid for the fuel and fed his family.

For the crops, he turned to the stranger again. The stranger promised him new crops that would grow larger and bigger than ever before. He supplied the man with new seeds to sow. And the stranger gave the man a special spray to clean his crop. “Why clean the crop?” the man asked. The stranger comforted him and told him it was just to wash off the dust from the fuel from the stove. the stranger assured him that this would solve all of his problems. His family would be warm and the crops would grow to be better than ever.

So the man took this strangers advice. He sowed new fields. As they grew larger than ever before he was assured that at last his life would be well. He say a future where his family was warm, fed, and even have excess money to buy nice clothes like the stranger had. When he harvested the crops, he washed them in the spray like the stranger told him to do. He thought that because the stranger had helped to have such a large yield that year, that the stranger was no longer a stranger, but a friend. He thought of this while spraying down his crops. He hummed to himself for the birds had all gone away and the silence of the field was unnerving.

This continued for a few years and the crops did grow. He had extra money, but he spent it on extra fuel for the stove. His family was well fed but his young had come down with some odd sickness. The house he had built was standing, but because of the heat in the summer he had removed the windows entirely to have more air flow through his house. One night the house became so cold in the winter winds that the man, out of desperation once again turned to his stove. Stoking the flames until the stove itself glowed red. Keeping the flames burning hotter and hotter to keep his family warm. His children were sick and he could not risk them being cold. "Finally it was warm", he thought as he drifted off to sleep, looking at his family resting comfortably.

When the sun rose in the morning. There was no house to be found. No family to rebuild it. No stove to keep them warm. Just a sturdy foundation that held a pile of ash. And so the birds returned.