The old train chugged along through the desert country one hot summer day.  The blinding dust and oppressive heat forced passengers to close the train windows.

By the time nightfall came, the desert had been crossed and a sleeping car was added to the train.  Tired passengers hastened to find rest and sleep after a trying day.  At one end of the Pullman car a man was seen with a tiny baby in his arms.  He was vainly trying to keep the baby quiet but the more he tried, the louder the baby cried.

Some of the passengers turned uneasily in their berths.  Then a big and brawny man yelled, “Why don’t you take that baby to its mother?”  There was a moment of silence and then a reply, “The baby’s mother is in her casket in the baggage car ahead.”

The big and brawny man who had asked the cruel question climbed out of his berth, dressed himself and rushed to the man with the motherless baby to make an apology for his thoughtless question.  The big and brawny man was so embarrassed that he took turns caring for the child to allow the father to get some sleep.

How easy it is for us to misunderstand our fellow man and sometimes say cruel things to them.  Let us magnify a wise and worthy patience in our contact with people.