The Generous Neighbor
Story★★★★The story is told of a city man who bought a farm. When he went out to look at the line fence, which had been the source of so much quarreling, the neighboring farmer said; “That fence is a full foot on my side.”
“Very well,” said the new owner, “we will set the fence two feet over on my side.”
“Oh, but that is more than I claim,” stammered the surprised farmer.
“Never mind about that. I would much rather have peace with my neighbor than two feet of earth,” said the man.
“That’s surely fine of you, sir,” replied the farmer, “but I couldn’t let you do a thing like that. That fence just won’t be moved at all.” [golden rule; neighbor; argue; relationships]
The point
A city man buys a farm and resolves a boundary dispute by offering to give up land for peace, surprising his neighbor into dropping the quarrel.