Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly
advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms
along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the
Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer
interviewed applicants for the job, he received nothing but refusals.
Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer.
"Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him.
"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him.
The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the
farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed,
the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s
sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is
coming! Tie things down before they blow away!" The little man rolled over
in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind
blows."
Enraged by the old man’s response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on
the
spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his
amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with
tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and
the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly
secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could
...