Patriotism
Patriotism :
There is a small country named Ethiopia in Arnica. The people of that country love their country very much. It is proved by the following story.
Some one hundred years ago, some tourists from European countries went to Ethiopia to see the country. They liked the natural beauty and the people of that proud country. The groups of tourists were staying in an inn. They would go out early in the morning to see the natural wonders of that land. The local black people looked keenly at those strange foreigners. The simple locals were too shy to talk with them.
One day, a person approached those foreigners and asked, ’from which land do you come and what are you doing here?’’’
‘We come from the countries of Europe to see your beautiful country. We are of different lands but friends.”
Another tourist added, ‘Though we are seeing your land on our own, but if we get someone who can speak our language and your language we shall enjoy more.”
The local informed, ‘You should go to our king and seek his help.”
Next day, the tourists went to the king and requested him to provide a guide. The king asked, ‘Well, first you tell me that how did you like whatever you have seen on your own so far. Happy or unhappy?’
A tourist replied, ‘Your land, rivers and natural beauty is fantastic. But if we get a guide we will know about the history and the legends attached to this country.’
The king was very pleased. He treated them as royal guests and put them up in his palace. A guide was allotted to them to show them around. The tourists were delighted. They liked the king very much and admired him. They visited all the places worth seeing in Ethiopia. They recorded everything in their diaries with diagrams. When their tour was complete the tourists asked permission of the king to leave.
The king gave the tourists lots of costly presents, They were led to the harbour by the king's men. The tourists were all praise for the king. They boarded the ship. A minister whispered some order to the soldiers. The soldiers made the tourists take off their shoes. The tourists looked at one another puzzled.
The shoes were taken away. The tourists couldn't understand what was happening. No one explained anything to them. Some of the tourists were getting irritated.
One of them showed courage to ask, 'Is it your custom that a foreigner has to leave his shoes back?'
Another one suggested, "if that's so please give us new shoes…We can't go back to our countries bare feet.'
The minister and the soldiers didn't reply. Some of the tourists thought that they were being insulted. Then they saw a soldier coming with pairs of shoes. The tourists watched amused.
When the soldier came near they found that he had brought back their shoes. A surprised tourist asked, ‘If you were to return same shoes back why did you take away in the first place?"
The minister smiled and said, 'Gentlemen! You came to our country and liked it. We are happy about it. And we are pleased that you are taking back fond memories of our country. But we don't want you to take back our soil. So we dusted your shoes clean. We love our soil more than our own lives. Thank you '
The tourists were amazed to see Ethiopian's love for their soil.
Patriotism :
Idioms Index – Previous Page
Related Links : Patriotism