Success Is Built upon Failure
A Scottish king by
the name of Robert Bruce formerly reigned in that country. Because of the
chaotic and harsh times he lived in, he needed to be both brave and
intelligent. He and the King of England were at war, and the King of England
sent a sizable army into Scotland to drive him out.
There had been
battle after battle. Bruce had faced off with his courageous small army six
times, but each time his soldiers were routed and defeated. Finally, his army
was dispersed, forcing him to seek refuge in the woods and in isolated
locations amid the mountains.
Bruce listened to
the patter of the raindrops on the roof above him as he lay on the ground
beneath a crude shed on a wet day. He was prepared to give up hope since he was
weary and ill at heart. He had the impression that further effort was
pointless.
He was lying there
contemplating when he noticed a spider preparing to spin her web above his
head. He saw her as she laboured carefully and gently. She made six attempts to
fling her thin thread from one beam to another, all of which were unsuccessful.
“You, too,
understand what it's like to fail, poor creature,” remarked Bruce.
With the sixth
failure, however, the spider did not give up. She prepared to try for a seventh
time with much more caution. As he watched her swing herself out onto the thin
wire, Bruce almost forgot about his own problems. Would she do the same
mistakes again? No! The thread was securely brought to the beam and tied there.
"I'll try a
seventh time, too!" Bruce exclaimed.
He got to his feet
and gathered his soldiers. They were informed of his plans, and he also sent
them with encouraging messages to his discouraged people. Soon, a valiant
Scottish army gathered around him. After yet another battle, the King of
England was relieved to return home.
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