Story of St. Francis of Assisi: Birds, hunter & True Love
There used to live a hunter in the same locality as Saint Francis of Assisi, the hunter would go to the wild with his bow & arrows and wait in stealth to hunt the birds. He would manage a few by the end of the day.
Once on his way to the forest where he would usually hunt the birds, he saw Saint Francis standing in peace, to his astonishment in the same place where he had to hide for hours to find a bird, there were tens of birds flocking around Saint Francis. They were sitting around him and listening to him as he spoke to them gently.
The hunter was puzzled; he thought 'If I can catch birds that easily, I could become so rich, life would be so easy.' He went to St. Francis and asked, "Dear Sir, How is it that birds come and flock around you while they runaway as soon as I come near?"
St. Francis smiled and said, "That is because, they know my Love for them is true. If you love them truly, they will like you too."
The hunter thought 'Umm, Let me try.' He observed St. Francis for couple of Days, he stood in the field with his arms opened and acted as if he is harmless. No bird came anywhere near him. Disappointed, he went to St. Francis and asked, "But still, no bird comes near me Sir."
"I think the birds are not convinced that you love them truly." said St. Francis.
The hunter resolved to give it his full, went and stood with the firm resolve for a whole day in the field, with his full heart he felt love for the birds in his heart, the birds came and sat next to him. His intention was so strong that he actually felt true love for the birds in his heart. Though now there were plenty of birds around him, he had no intention to kill birds.
Moral of the story: Even if one does right things with wrong intention, by the strength of right actions right results come. It is not possible to fake Love over time, Love feels so good that it becomes real.