You never know who may one day need your helping hand. At the same time, you never know who will be there for you when you fall.
We want to share a little story which happened to Franz Kafka, the world-famous writer, who once witnessed a real ’tragedy’ which he couldn’t ignore. It’s really quite an inspiring tale which we can all learn something from.
Living in Berlin, Franz Kafka used to go for a walk in the park every day. There, the story goes, he once ran into a little girl who was in tears. He asked her why she was so sad and the girl told him that she had lost her favorite doll. Kafka offered to help her look for the doll and arranged to meet her the next day at the very same spot.
Of course, when he came back, the famous writer couldn’t find it. So he decided to compose a letter for the girl ’written by’ the doll. He brought it to the girl the next day and read it to her. ’Please don’t be so sad, I have gone on a trip to see the world. I will write to you about all of my adventures.’ Over the next few weeks they kept meeting in the park, and Kafka read all the letters the doll had supposedly written. The letters seemed to comfort his new little friend.
Not so long after this incident, Kafka’s tuberculosis worsened, and he had to move away to spend more time in sanatoriums in Vienna. During his last meeting with the little girl, he presented her with a doll. Obviously, it was very different from the one she had lost. But it held a small letter which read, ’My travels have changed me…’
