Am I My Brother's Keeper?

Author: Ivy Bonhurst

SONG: Families Can Be Together Forever

A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife
opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a rat trap.

Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning;
“There is a rat trap in the house. A Rat Trap in the HOUSE”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said,
“Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell that this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The Rat turned to the pig and told him. “ There is rat trap in the house”
“I am so very sorry Mr. Rat,” sympathized the pig, “ but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers.”

The Rat turned to the cow. She said “ Like wow, Mr. Rat. A rat trap. Like that really scared big old me.”

So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's rat trap alone.

That very night a sound was heard thoughout the house, like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey. The farmer wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it as a venomous snake whose take the trap had caught.

The Snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever.

Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her round the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came to her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk.

SCRIPTURE: "Am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9)

MORAL: The Hand You Pull Up, May be the Hand That Saves You !


ACTIVITY:
Balancing Act
Have someone get down on his or her hands and knees on a towel. Place a glass of water on the person's back, between the shoulder blades so that it will balance by itself. Then, ask the person to remove the glass without spilling it. After thirty seconds, ask someone else if they will help. Sometimes we are placed in a position to help someone who cannot complete a task alone. By being aware of the needs of those around us, we can be instruments in the Lord's hands. --LDS Living, November/December 2007