The Whistling Schoolboy and Other Stories of School Life

by Ruskin Bond

‘And when all the wars are done,’ I said, ‘a butterfly will still be beautiful.’

Book readers are special people, and they will always turn to books as the ultimate pleasure. Those who do not read are the unfortunate ones. There’s nothing wrong with them, but they are missing out on one of life’s compensations and rewards. A great book is a friend that never lets you down. You can return to it again and again, and the joy first derived from it will still be there. I think it is fair to say that, when I was a boy, reading was my true religion. It helped me discover my soul.

We get out of life what we bring to it. There is not a dream which may not come true if we have the energy which determines our own fate. We can always get what we want if we will it intensely enough.

We all know that the man who works steadily for money gets rich; the man who works day and night for fame or power reaches his goal. And those who work for deeper, more spiritual achievements will find them too. It may come when we no longer have any use for it, but if we have been willing it long enough, it will come!