(A) Once upon a time, two brothers, Robert and James, who lived on neighboring farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious fight in 40 years of farming side by side. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major argument, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on Robert’s door. (a) He opened it to find a carpenter with a toolbox.
(B) The two brothers stood awkwardly for a moment, but soon met on the bridge and shook hands. They saw the carpenter leaving with his toolbox. “No, wait! Stay a few more days.” Robert told him. “Thank you for (b) your invitation. But I need to go build more bridges. Don’t forget. The fence leads to isolation and the bridge to openness,” said carpenter. The two brothers nodded at the carpenter’s words.
(C) Looking at Robert, the carpenter said, “I’m looking for a few days’ work. Do (c) you have anything to repair?” “I have nothing to be repaired, but I have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. Last week, my younger brother James took his bulldozer and put that creek in the meadow between us. Well, (d) I will do even worse. I want you to build me an 8-foot tall fence which will block him from seeing my place,” said Robert. The carpenter seemed to understand the situation.
(D) Robert prepared all the materials the carpenter needed. The next day, Robert left to work on another farm, so he couldn’t watch the carpenter for some days. When Robert returned and saw the carpenter’s work, his jaw dropped. Instead of a fence, the carpenter had built a bridge that stretched from one side of the creek to the other. His brother was walking over, waving (e) his hand in the air. Robert laughed and said to the carpenter, “You really can fix anything.”