The Wizard and his Garden

Have you heard the story of the wizard and his garden? It was written quite some time ago by that doyen of children’s literature, Enid Blyton. Let me quickly recap the story for you: There was once a wizard who had the world’s most beautiful garden. He cherished it and tended to it with the utmost love and care. Now he had a witch for a neighbour, who thought that his garden was really amazing. She couldn’t resist peeping into his garden several times during the day in order to get a glimpse of the beautiful flowers, revel in the fragrance and watch the birds and honeybees flock to the garden. The wizard observed this, and considered the witch to be a nosey parker. So he decided to go yell at her and sort the matter. But before he could do that, he happened to meet a wise old witch and told her about his grand intention to yell. Now the old lady, wise as she was, cautioned against it and said that there is always a nice way to get around problems. To yell at the witch would make her angry and in her antagonism, she might cast a nasty spell on the wizard and make him repent for ever.

So the wise old lady came up with an idea – she gave him daffodil seeds and asked him to grow them on the fence circling his garden. He did so, and the flowers grew to such great heights that the nosey neighbour could no longer look into his garden. And yet, she didn’t mind, because the daffodils brought much joy to her, with their easy sway, beautiful colour and lovely fragrance. The wizard got what he wanted and through a ‘nice’ way, as the wise old witch would say.

At an early age, I learnt from this story that people are more receptive and more open to change if only you didn’t lose your head and dealt with them in a nice, calm manner. This story has helped me in keeping my cool and dealing with relationships well. I wanted to spread the message – and even if it doesn’t help you, it’s always a good story!

And now let us thank Enid Blyton for helping us all have normal blood pressure levels. Here’s to calm, frruitful negotiations.

About these ads