The Two Candles

When the night’s festivities had been concluded the fire in the fireplace was extinguished and everyone retired to bed for a good rest. The master of the house then lit two candles to light up the room during the long night hours ahead. He placed one on the mantelpiece above the fireplace and the other one on top of the windowsill next to the slightly open window. A small wind blew through the window and the candle on the windowsill burned fiercely with a bright burning flame. “Look how brightly and fast I am burning. I light up the whole room with my bright light while you just stand there in the corner giving off a very dim flame indeed. At this rate you will take all night to burn out and give the master hardly any light at all.’ He laughed at the candle burning dimly on the mantelpiece. Sure enough, the bright flame by the open window did not take long before it had used up all of its wax, and soon he brunt down to the end of his wick and was finally extinguished in the flickering breeze. ‘I am done for and all burnt out.’ He moaned as he died suddenly in the passing wind. The candle in the corner of the room on top of the mantle piece however kept burning at a steady pace, and it would last its master all night, giving he him the much needed little flame that he so needed throughout the passing of the long dark night. He paced himself well and lasted throughout.  Sometimes it is not always better to burn out than to fade away peacefully.