Lesson from a Bumblebee
I was 16 years old. School years were the best years of my life!
The Hindi teacher, Mr. Vyas, was a very tall man. I sat in the first row in class and had to lift my head a bit higher as he stood in front of me. Next to me sat Chandrashekhar, a friend and a schoolmate. Mr Vyas had amazing Hindi. I hardly understood a word!
As he turned to write on the blackboard a huge bumblebee came into class through the nearby window…and flew straight to me. The bumblebee has a whirring sound. This scared me and I began to shoo it away from me. My arms were flailing wildly as I tried to ward it off me. Chandrashekhar also got into the same act but he began to yell as fear overcame him.
Mr Vyas suddenly turned around and saw us both with arms thrashing! He never saw the bumblebee…! He thought we were in a fight behind his back and Chandrashekhar was still yelling. Two steps and he was beside me. His arm came down with a resounding slap as he found the back of my head. Then he caught Chandrashekhar by the arm and for a second time his arm came down with a similar resounding slap on the back of my friend’s head. I was trying to feebly explain, “Sir! It is the bumblebee that is trying to sting us!”. By tis time the bumblebee had flown out of the window. There was nothing to be seen.
Finally we were asked to stand in different corners of the classroom, while the rest of the class rang with laughter.
Although the pain of the stinging rap behind my head is now long gone, there is one precious lesson to learn…
It is how you handle the situation…though the circumstance is challenging.
Be blessed!
