Story by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

          Dorothy Canfield Fisher once wrote a poignant story about a physically powerful but dimwitted farm hand named Lem who lived in a Vermont valley.  His mother resented him from the day he was born.  She often ridiculed him with harsh and demeaning words.  Even so, the boy served her till she died.

          Lem was the target of village jokes. But then one night he came upon a huge dog killing some farmer’s sheep. Using his bare hands as his only weapon, he strangled the dog to death. When morning came, the villagers discovered the dog was really a giant timber wolf. Lem quickly earned the villagers’ silent admiration.

          Later, an unwed village girl falsely accused Lem of being the father of her baby. Even though he was innocent, he married to girl so the baby would have a father. Unfortunately, the mother died within a year, so Lem raised the little girl. After she was grown and married, he own baby became desperately ill and Lem sold all his sheep to pay for the baby’s medical care.

          Confronted with meanness, misunderstanding, and loneliness all his life, Lem had no recourse in professing the true nature of his own life . . . other than to live it out in serving others. And that he did!

          The loudest message you speak . . . is your life.