A water-carrier walked the same path from the river to her home twice a day. She used two clay pots — one whole and one with a small crack near the rim. By the time she reached home each evening, the cracked pot had lost half its water. One day the cracked pot whispered, "I am ashamed. I cannot do what the whole pot does." The carrier smiled. "Look down," she said. On her side of the path bloomed wild marigolds and tulsi — fed every morning and evening by the water that had leaked from the crack. The other side was bare. "Your crack," she said, "is what waters my flowers."