Will you enter the hut?  "Two Old Men," a short story by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, tells the tale of two brothers, Elfin and Elisha.  Devout Christians both, one day Elfin and Elisha decide to do a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  Not too many hours after they left, they came upon a hut.  Decrepit and barren, it did not look like a place in which they thought they should linger.  They soon heard, however, calls and cries of pain from behind the door.  Elfin and Elisha therefore faced a decision.  Should they remain focused on their pilgrimage or should they look inside the hut to see whether they could help?
     In a decision reminiscent of that of the two men who ignored the Samaritan man on the road to Jericho, Elfin replied, no:  his journey to Jerusalem was more important.  He continued on his way.  In a move on which the entire story hinges, Elisha, on the other hand, did the opposite:  he "entered the hut."  Elisha set aside his own concerns to attend to those of others.  Once he stepped into the hut, the brother realized that he had come upon a group of people greatly in need of assistance.  He remained for several days, days that soon stretched into weeks, lending his energy and resources to alleviating the suffering he found.
     Once Elisha felt as if these people were well enough to live on their own, he took his leave.  Realizing that he could not possibly get to Jerusalem to meet Elfin, he began his journey home.
     Meanwhile, Elfin was walking home when he saw the hut again.  Immediately, he noticed a change.  The people in it were happy.  Their lives had been restored.  What he asked them, had happened?  When he heard, he was amazed:  who would do such a kind thing?
     As Elfin continued, he and Elisha met each other on the road.  Once Elfin related his experience and realized what his brother had done, he grasped that, in words that end the story, "The best way to keep one's vows to God and to do his will is for each man while he lives to show love and do good to others."
    Wherever we think we ought to go, we should always take time "to enter the hut."