Bridge Builder Academy

Story of "The Bridge Builder"

A king once told his servant to go into the countryside and to build a bridge across a river. The young man had no money and no tools with which to work, but took along his juggling balls and a bird. At first the boy stopped at the site where the bridge was to be built. He felt hopeless because he did not have the tools and materials to build the bridge and he had never built a bridge before.

The next day the king’s servant trudged slowly into a village where he came across a black smith selling axes on the street. He asked the man how much the axes cost, but realized that whatever the price he could not pay it.

The axe salesman simply said, “Juggle those balls for me and have your bird sing me a song, and I will give you an axe”. The bird sang a simple but sweet tune, while the young man juggled. After his act was complete the servant was given a small axe.

The young man had never chopped wood before, and at times lacked the strength to even hold a hammer, so he decided that he should practice chopping wood. The bird knew of a forest very close to where the bridge was to be built. It was there that the bird guided the boy and helped him find trees to chop. At first the servant chopped only the smallest of twigs. After days of practice, and piles of logs, however, the servant had enough wood for the bridge and some left over. Even though the man had been successful in chopping wood, he was still very dismayed at the idea of building a bridge. He had no tools and no experience at being a carpenter.

As he sat there discouraged an old lady came by. She looked at the young man’s wood, and said, ”I have no coins to give you, but may I have some of that wood for my fire tonight?” The servant gave some wood to the old woman, and in return was given a few nails. This gave him an idea.

The next day the young man took his bird, his axe, his nails, his balls, and some wood into the village. He asked the blacksmith where he could sell his wood. He pointed the juggler in the direction of the bakery. The baker needed wood to bake his bread. He had no coins, but gave the servant two loves of bread for his wood. One loaf of bread the young man ate, the other he took into a blacksmith shop. There in the blacksmith shop was a man and woman who were about to have dinner, but only had beans at their table. The couple said “entertain us for dinner by having your bird sing for us, and by juggling, and also give us your loaf of bread, and you may have a hammer and a saw.” That night the young man returned to where he would build the bridge. He was happy that he had all the supplies that he needed, but he still had never built a bridge.

Early the next morning, the servant began to saw wood into planks. He could feel the strength that he had gained over those days of chopping in the forest. He began to hammer the planks together and realized that the coordination and balance he had learned through juggling was helping him to hold a bridge up as the river raged beneath him. At times there was discouragement, as the pieces of his bridge began to topple. The bird sang an encouraging song, and the bridge builder worked to solve his problems and continued to build.

In the end a man with hidden strength and skills built a bridge that could withstand wind and floods. When the man returned to the castle, the king almost did not recognize him as the boyish servant that he had sent away. The king announced that together they would take a journey to the bridge. There, before his servant, the king crossed the bridge. As he walked to the other side the king declared him the official bridge builder for the kingdom, and then asked him to simply juggle while his bird sang a tune.

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Author's note:

As an educator I believe strongly that a child’s strengths can be tools to help them gain new strengths. At the beginning of this tale, the young man has nothing besides some juggling balls and a bird. The bird is his teacher, his encourager, and his guide. His balls are his most treasured talent. As the story unfolds the servant uses his juggling to gain new skills and reach his goal. In the end it was his balance and coordination from juggling, and strength from chopping wood that set him apart as a bridge builder. At times teachers only see surface skills, the sort of skills easily documented on achievement tests and worksheets. It is important in the area of special education that teachers utilize even the seemingly minute of skills, talents, or interests. These can be used as a tool through which encouragement can be given and more skills gained. It is my hope that as I work with students of all types that I keep in mind Howard Gardiner’s various modes of intelligence, and realize that intelligence is not always revealed on paper, and that new skills can be gained by using old ones.