The
Man Who Was Selfish
There was a man named Rick Thompson, who was not a very
good basketball player, who was playing at the local park by his house. He
played and played and sat down on the table under the canopy to take a break, after
awhile of resting he looked up and noticed three other people playing basketball.
Rick had never seen these three people before and he was jealous of the talent
and basketball skills they had. They made shot after shot, it seemed as if they
would never miss a shot and were able to dunk the basketball with ease due to
their athletic ability. These people were what Rick hoped he would be as a
basketball player, but it had never conspired. He could not watch any longer to
release and was determined to do something about it. Rick began to beg and
plead with the three people about them helping and teaching him how to become
as good a player as they were.
Eventually,
Rick had begged so much that the people finally gave in and told him they would
help him with his basketball skill to become as good as a player as they were. In
return, Rick told all three of the people that he would give him a reward for
them helping and teaching him. After
working with Rick for a couple of hours, Rick supplied the three people with
his rewards with giving all three of them a $100 each. Also, Rick told the
three individuals that he would advertise for them and send people there way,
if they needed help improving their basketball skills. This allowed for the
three people to start up a basketball skills academy to help players develop
their skills. After awhile, the people had a lot of people lining up for their
services and the money came with it, it allowed them to live in great comfort.
Rick, on the other hand, began to become jealous again because of the
recognition and wealth the three people were receiving when it was him who
brought this plan to the forefront and he wanted a part of it. He had to figure
out a way to get in the fold of everything.
His
opportunity would quickly arise as a few of the players that came into the
academy had not gotten much better, so he decided to intervene and take these
few players under his wing. Rick used the same drills as the three other
people, but did it in a much more detailed fashion to disguise what he was
doing. The three people noticed what Rick was doing and tried to stop him. Rick
told them and everyone else in the academy that he was the one who had taught
the other three people what they knew regarding basketball and that he should
be getting the recognition. The three people were hurt by Rick’s action and
were quickly pushed out of the academy. Rick took over the academy; he immediately
changed the routine and sequence of drills that the players went through. The
three people began to here rumblings regarding what was happening at the
academy and were asked to come back to take it back over because all of the
players who had gotten better were now losing what they had gained.
The
three people returned the next day to set things straight, but sat back and
watched Rick demonstrate everything and could see the skill of each player
decreasing. They took their stand and challenged Rick to a competition of
1-on-1. Rick would play each of them 1-on-1 and if any of them loss, then they
would leave the academy forever, but if Rick lost to any of them, then he would
leave the academy forever. The fate of each player was in the hands of three
1-on-1 games, and no one knew how it was going to end.
Author’s Note:
My original source for my story is based off of The Ungrateful Man. In The Ungrateful Man: There is a
poor Hunter, who is traveling through the forest until he stumbles upon a deep
hole where he finds a snake, leopard, rat, and a man. He did not want to help
any of the animals, just the man, but the animals begged the Hunter until he
agreed to free them from the hole. They all promised to reward the man for his
actions and all gave him a gif. The man did not because h was also poor, but
with the gifts from the animals, the Hunter gained much wealth. The man became
jealous and created a plan to get the wealth for himself. There were some
robbers who stole from the King, so the man decided he would ask the King if there
was a reward for turning in the robber. The man pointed out the Hunter as the
thief and he was brought to the Court. They asked him how he gained his wealth,
but did not believe his story. The Hunter was punished to death the next day.
Before he died, he asked the King to use the gift that the snake had given him
which was a venom antidote, but needed “traitor’s blood” to mix with it. In
this time, the King pointed out the man who had betrayed the Hunter. The Hunter
was eventually freed and the King gifted him with honours.
