Sometimes we have to pay to help others

The other day when I arrived at my office in the morning, I saw a young-one of a Squirrel lying on the ground near the office building. It had fallen from its nest, which was located on a ventilator on the 3rd floor of the building next to our office. Soon many of my colleagues arrived and all of us felt pity for it. It was helpless, and leaving it there would mean death for sure as crows or ants will finally get to it. We told our office caretaker to shift it back to the nest. It was not an easy task as he had to go to the next building, take the required permission, and then put the creature in the nest. He agreed to do so, and then I came back to my place to start my daily work-routine.

Hours flew by, and it was time for tea-break. As I passed through the same place, I saw that the little squirrel was still there where it had fallen. I enquired the office care-taker about it. He told that he had put it back in the nest, but the young-one had fallen once again from its nest..! This was a surprise. Other colleagues heard it too, and we all asked the care-taker to put it back once again. He agreed to do so, but we could feel the reluctance in his voice.

The young squirrel was still lying on ground after an hour. When we came to know about this, my colleague Aravind Bhat hit upon a plan. He told the office care-taker that he will give Rs.100 to him if he puts the young squirrel in the nest. Needless to say, the young creature was back in its nest within short time.

Lesson for me: Having compassion is not enough. Sometimes we have to pay to help others.