The Imperfect House, A Tale Of Laziness

The story of The Imperfect House tells of a poor man who had a hope: a better future. Throughout his life he had done many jobs, some of them very hard and difficult. He had devoted himself to these professions with discipline and never getting enough rest. His goal was to earn more, so as to ensure a better life for his family. This is how this story begins.

The jobs this man did were, in general, poorly paid. What’s more, all of them are temporary. Sometimes he worked for a month, but then he was unemployed for two or three months, with nothing to do. His family therefore lived in a situation of great poverty.

Despite his best efforts, his wife scolded him every day, accusing him of not doing enough to resolve the predicament. He criticized his way of choosing jobs and never missed an opportunity to blame him, asking him to bring home more money. They had almost nothing to eat and could never buy clothes or other essential goods. The protagonist of the story of The Imperfect House  therefore lived in a condition of perennial sadness and with a heart broken by anguish.

An opportunity for improvement

One day a famous businessman decided to open a large furniture factory in the city. He needed a lot of employees and our man was the first to show up, hoping to get one of the places. He hoped this was the perfect opportunity to change his life and that of his family.

Although the man had few skills, the entrepreneur saw that he was a decent person, willing to work and willing to give his best for the company. He therefore decided to offer him a place in his company. In addition, he gave him a much higher salary than he had received up to that point.

The man in The Imperfect House story was so happy he couldn’t believe what had just happened to him. His wife too was finally happy and their lives changed profoundly ever since. They always had food in the pantry and their children could go to school without having to give up anything.

An unexpected change

The man worked hard, always trying to give his best to return the trust he received. B n soon he went from being a mere apprentice to occupying the position of carpenter. Little by little, his pay improved and unnecessary spending began in his imperfect house. The family no longer bought only what was needed, but furniture and luxury items that hardly matched the humble abode in which they lived.

One day, however, the entrepreneur realized that his furniture factory was not providing him with the necessary profits to continue the business. So he made the hard decision to close and left the city to start another business, far away. Companies come and go, you know. Thus, the carpenter lost his job and his family again had to count every penny he spent. Despite this, this time too the good man managed to find another job. He soon started working as a bricklayer in a construction company, but the salary was quite modest.

The wife and children, who had become accustomed to a certain well-being, began to blame the head of the family for this new situation of poverty. They did not accept to make sacrifices and demanded everything that, until recently, they had had. Then the man went to speak to his superior demanding a salary increase. The boss explained that he did not have enough resources to pay him more, but promised that if he worked hard and consistently, the chances of a wage improvement would increase.

Finale of The Imperfect House

The good man reported to his family what the employer had told him, but both his wife and children showed their full grudge. They reminded him that in the furniture factory he had worked with care and in the end they had fired him without too many pleasantries. They advised him to just do as little as possible. Anyway, sooner or later, they would have fired him again.

At first, the man ignored this advice. However, over time those words began to enter his soul. It was all true: what was the point of giving your best, sacrificing yourself, working hard if you never received anything in return? Well, he made the decision to stop trying. He began building houses using the worst materials and completing projects without attention to detail.

He worked this way for many years, until his retirement. Shortly before leaving the company, the boss asked him for yet another favor: to build one last house. Reluctantly and without interest, the man built the house, thinking only of the time when he would no longer have to go to work. Once finished, the boss went to check the house and gave him the keys, exclaiming: “This house is yours”.