The Old Man and his Grandson

Once upon a time there was an old man whose eyes had become dull, his ears deaf, and his knees trembled. When he sat at the table and could hardly hold the spoon, he poured soup onto the tablecloth and some of it flowed out of his mouth. His son and his wife were disgusted by this, and so the old grandfather finally had to sit down behind the stove in the corner, and they gave him his food in an earthen bowl, and not even full; then he looked sadly at the table, and his eyes became wet. Once his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke.

The young woman scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they bought him a little wooden bowl for a few pennies, and he had to eat out of it. As they were sitting there, the little grandson of four years old was carrying little boards together on the ground. What are you doing?" asked the father. I'm making a little dish,' the child answered, 'so that my father and mother can eat from it when I grow up. Then the husband and wife looked at each other for a while, finally began to cry, and immediately brought the old grandfather to the table and from then on always let him eat with them, even if he spilled a little.