Fool’s paradise

A foolish servant is always a danger...

Domestic servants have become a necessity nowadays. However, not everyone is lucky enough to truly enjoy the services of a good servant. Some get servants with bad habits while many other servants might not complete their job well.

Yesterday when I visited a nearby park for a blissful stroll, I could not help overhearing a few women discussing this topic. One of them was afraid of hiring maids or servants at home after reading about numerous robbery incidents involving domestic help, while someone else considered hiring them a headache as most of the times they do not deliver their duties properly.

One of them said that if the servant turns out to be robber, he causes loss of wealth, but if he turns out to be foolish, he causes greater losses.

Sharing her experience one of them said that she had bought a new vacuum cleaner and told her maid that this machine could clean anything spotlessly. The next day, she saw the maid using the vacuum cleaner over her husband’s shirt.

When enquired, the maid’s reply stumped her. “I just wanted to clean the shirt spotlessly.”

After hearing this, another of them narrated an unfortunate yet humorous incident. Once, she had to go to a party. She asked her servant to wash the car. Later, when she saw the car, she was pleased as it was sparkling. But when she sat inside, she realised that everything was wet. Then the servant realised that he forgot to close the window. Needless to say, she could not attend the party.

The funniest of the lot, I felt was, when another lady said that her servant follows her instructions literally. Once she saw her servant watering the plants while it was raining. When she asked him about it, he reminded her that she had asked him to water the plants every evening.

After listening to their conversation, I realised that a fool’s paradise is truly a wise man’s hell.

(Published in The Gulf Today on February 13, 2016)