The Two Lines

Gokul had two sons. When they were very young, he once drew a small line on the wall and asked them, “Boys, can you make this line appear smaller without erasing any part of it?”

The boys admitted that they were unable to do so. Gokul then drew a longer line parallel to the first one. “Doesn’t the old line appear smaller now?” he asked.

As time passed, the two sons grew up, married, and lived in separate houses. Gokul moved in with his elder son but found his daughter-in-law quite unkind. He eventually left to stay with his younger son, only to discover that both the daughter-in-law and the son maltreated him.

Gokul returned to his elder son, and thereafter, the elder daughter-in-law’s conduct did not seem as bad as it once had. “How happy I am!” he was heard telling people.

However, deep down, Gokul understood the truth: “You are not really happy. All that has happened is that the old line appears smaller when compared with the new one!”