Once upon a time a bowl was born. It was not much of a birth — no long months of planning and no great anticipation, no patient shaping under loving hands. Scarcely a thought went into the creation of this little bowl. The quick impersonal movement of a few machines and a trip through a hot oven was all it took for him to be created. There was really nothing to look at, no warmth and no beauty. He was shipped off to a store to be sold.

One day this bowl was purchased, not because he was beautiful, but simply because he was cheap and would serve a purpose. And he did that very well. Meal after meal and day after day he faithfully served, for this was his calling in life — namely to be a simple bowl. Sometimes after meals, he sat around a long time waiting to be cleaned. By the time it came…