How to Handle Spilled Milk

Yet more bad news arrived at breakfast time, and after another miserable night in this prison of ice. Quarrels among the men broke out and spread. One fellow called another’s attention to something, which inadvertently caused his mug of milk to tip over and spill onto the ground. Gone. His meager bit of comfort had vanished into the thirsty snow. The upset mug was too much for him to take; he yelled at the man whom he blamed for the spill. The accused tried to defend himself, but the outraged man shouted him down. Finally, still clutching his empty mug, he lapsed into silence. He stared helplessly down at the greedy snow; he appeared as though he may weep over the loss. But suddenly, silently, the hand of the other man reached out to pour a portion of his own drink into the accuser’s mug. Then another man followed his lead. One after another, seven men quietly contributed, filling the man’s mug with milk—and perhaps, his heart with hope.