Story: The Woodcutter

Joe was tired. For many years he had been felling trees, cutting logs and taking them to market. Now his back was beginning to hurt him and his body was stooped. What could he do?

Woodcutting was all he knew. He struggled on.

One day, Joe bent down to pick up the logs he had cut and noticed a particular piece of wood. It seemed to him to be something extraordinary. He examined it closely, turning it over in his hands.

There was life in that piece of wood – life that was longing to be released.

That night, instead of snoozing in front of the fire after his meal, Joe assembled his chisels and knives and began to shape the wood. The more he worked, the more excited he became. The wood revealed and released a shape. Joe was amazed and entranced.

He had chopped and collected wood in the same way that his father had before him, but now something had changed. While he worked, he put certain pieces of wood to one side because he could see shapes and forms that he’d never noticed before. At night he would work with the wood, shaping, cutting and forming it. During the day he left his creations outside his small hut, as there was little space inside. Time passed.

A merchant happened upon the woodman’s house one day and noticed the array of different sculptures. The merchant was captivated and sought out the artist who had produced them, knowing that others would enjoy them too.

Now the woodman makes his forays into the woods only to find the wood he needs for his craft.  His creations give joy to many and he spends his days doing what he loves.

Marsha Sineta