They Were Surprised That a Child

In a quiet village nestled between rolling hills, an old dispute had divided neighbors for years. Arguments flared at every meeting, and no elder could find common ground.

Then, one afternoon, a young child—barely seven—spoke up during a town gathering. “Why not share the well?” the child asked simply. “Water doesn’t belong to one side or the other.”

Silence fell. The adults looked at each other, then at the child. They were surprised that a child—so small, so young—could see what they had long forgotten: that kindness and fairness need no age.

From that day on, the well became a shared space. And whenever tensions rose again, someone would quietly say, “Remember what the child said.”