In which we celebrate Saturday Stories : a "perfection" story

Librarians are often considered nit-picky perfectionists. I'm not saying that I'm not that way. But perhaps it's time to appreciate imperfections and "good enoughs" and just go riding instead. Right? --A

The Cracked Pot

Once, in a village far from here, there was a water-carrier.

Every day, the water-carrier would put a yoke across his shoulders, and hang a water pot on each end of the yoke.

Every day, the water carrier filled both pots of water at the river, and then carried them carefully, carefully, up the long path to the house.

Every day, one of the pots was full when it arrived at the house. But the other pot had a small crack in it, and so it leaked half of the water out before it arrived at the house.

After years of arriving half-empty every day, the cracked pot apologized to the water-carrier.

But the water-carrier was confused. “Why do you apologize?”

“Because,” explained the cracked pot, “every day you walk down to the river and fill up two pots of water. But because of the crack in my side, I only deliver half of the water.”

The water-carrier smiled. “Tomorrow, when we come up the hill, look at the path below you. Look at the flowers that grow on your side of the path. The flowers there grow because of the water you leak.

There are no flowers on the perfect pot’s side.”