The Legend of the Wooden Bowl

Thoughtfully, Travis told his grandparents about the little shepherd boy, Benjamin, who shared the food in his wooden bowl with the great Teacher, and all the people around Him. He told about the boy, Jonathan, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a ship and became an indentured servant. Then he told about Ethan, the father who was at Valley Forge and the boy, Morgan, who crossed the plains in a covered wagon. He told about the girl, Rylee, who lived in a house on a farm where great dust storms killed all the crops. He told how each dream included the wooden bowl that gave five loaves of bread and two fishes each time the people in his dreams were without food and prayed for help. Both his grandparents were very quiet as they listened to Travis tell the stories. Never in his life had any adults listened to him so seriously. When he finished talking, he was surprised to see quiet tears slowly moving down his grandmother’s face. In a soft, loving voice she spoke, “Travis, you have been given a very special blessing by having those dreams. Now you are a witness to the magic of the wooden bowl. That bowl is the most precious thing we have in this house. It was given to me by my mother, Rylee, who was the little girl you dreamed about that lived during the Great Depression. Those dreams you had really happened to your ancestors. We know some of the stories because each time the bowl was given to the oldest child, they were told how precious the bowl is and the stories that were remembered about it. I am sure that there are many stories we don’t know because they were forgotten through the years, but someday the bowl will be yours. Remember your dreams because when you are grown you will need to tell those stories to your oldest child.”