My Aim in Life
Paulo Coelho
The Way of the Bow
2008
Paulo Coelho’s website address is www.paulocoelho.com Paulo Coelho’s blog address is www.paulocoelhoblog.com
Copyright © Paulo Coelho 2005 The right of Paulo Coelho to be identified as the moral rights author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000 (Cth). ISBN : 978-0-557-01007-3 Published by Lulu.com
A prayer without a deed is an arrow without a bow-string. A deed without a prayer is a bow-string without an arrow. Ella Wheeler Wilcox
'Tetsuya.' The boy looked at the stranger, startled. 'No one in this city has ever seen Tetsuya holding a bow,' he replied. 'Everyone here knows him as a carpenter.' 'Maybe he gave up, maybe he lost his courage, that doesn't matter to me,' insisted the stranger. 'But he cannot be considered to be the best archer in the country if he has abandoned his art. That's why I've been travelling all these days, in order to challenge him and put an end to a reputation he no longer deserves.' The boy saw there was no point in arguing; it was best to take the man to the carpenter's shop so that he could see with his own eyes that he was mistaken. Tetsuya was in the workshop at the back of his house. He turned to see who had come in, but his smile froze when his eyes fell on the long bag that the stranger was carrying. 'It's exactly what you think it is,' said the new arrival. 'I did not come here to humiliate or to provoke the man who has become a legend. I
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would simply like to prove that, after all my years of practice, I have managed to reach perfection.' Tetsuya made as if to resume his work: he was just putting the legs on a table. 'A man who served as an example for a whole generation cannot just disappear as you did,' the stranger went on. 'I followed your teachings, I tried to respect the way of the bow, and I deserve to have you watch me shoot. If you do this, I will go away and I will never tell anyone where to
The Way of the Bow
2008
Paulo Coelho’s website address is www.paulocoelho.com Paulo Coelho’s blog address is www.paulocoelhoblog.com
Copyright © Paulo Coelho 2005 The right of Paulo Coelho to be identified as the moral rights author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000 (Cth). ISBN : 978-0-557-01007-3 Published by Lulu.com
A prayer without a deed is an arrow without a bow-string. A deed without a prayer is a bow-string without an arrow. Ella Wheeler Wilcox
'Tetsuya.' The boy looked at the stranger, startled. 'No one in this city has ever seen Tetsuya holding a bow,' he replied. 'Everyone here knows him as a carpenter.' 'Maybe he gave up, maybe he lost his courage, that doesn't matter to me,' insisted the stranger. 'But he cannot be considered to be the best archer in the country if he has abandoned his art. That's why I've been travelling all these days, in order to challenge him and put an end to a reputation he no longer deserves.' The boy saw there was no point in arguing; it was best to take the man to the carpenter's shop so that he could see with his own eyes that he was mistaken. Tetsuya was in the workshop at the back of his house. He turned to see who had come in, but his smile froze when his eyes fell on the long bag that the stranger was carrying. 'It's exactly what you think it is,' said the new arrival. 'I did not come here to humiliate or to provoke the man who has become a legend. I
5
would simply like to prove that, after all my years of practice, I have managed to reach perfection.' Tetsuya made as if to resume his work: he was just putting the legs on a table. 'A man who served as an example for a whole generation cannot just disappear as you did,' the stranger went on. 'I followed your teachings, I tried to respect the way of the bow, and I deserve to have you watch me shoot. If you do this, I will go away and I will never tell anyone where to