THE YOUNG MONK AND THE ABBOTT

One day many years in the past

A young monk arrived at a monastery.

To assist other monks with the canon and laws

By making hand written copies

But he notices very quickly

That all of us are copying from copies,

And not from the original texts

So he goes to the Abbott with a query

 

He tells the Abbott of his concern

That any error in the first copy

No matter how small it may be

Would be duplicated in each subsequent copy

The abbot says to the boy

“We have been doing it for centuries

Copying from the copies

But you have a good point, sonny.”

 
The abbot goes down to the dark caves

To the archives beneath the monastery

where the original manuscripts are held

Kept locked in a vault for safety

 

Hours go by and nobody sees the abbot 

he misses his meals and prayers

The young monk gets worried

And goes to look for him downstairs

 

He finds him banging his head on a wall

Wailing, “We missed the “R”

His forehead is bloody and bruised

And the boy thinks that will leave a scar

 

The young monk asks the abbot,

“What's wrong?” why do you create 

Crying the Abbott replies,

“The word was Celebrate!!!”