A young man was attempting to sail single handed around the world, when he found himself in the middle of a terrible storm. He struggled to keep his boat from being overwhelmed by the heavy seas, but was eventually driven on to the rocks of a small uninhabited island and he was washed ashore, cold, wet and exhausted. He woke up the following morning, after spending the night on the beach and being a devout man he prayed to God thanking him for his deliverance and asking that he would look after him and send a rescue vessel. Day after day he prayed to God to rescue him from his lonely existence and spent many hours scanning the horizon for a passing ship, but as he had been driven off most of the shipping routes by the storm, none came. After some time when it became obvious he was not going to be rescued, he decided he must build himself some form of protection from the elements. After scouring the island for loose pieces of wood he managed to build a primitive hut in which he could sleep at night. Then one evening after scavenging for food, he returned to find his little hut being consumed by flames, with clouds of smoke billowing into the air. The
worst of all had happened and everything was gone! He cried out with grief and anger, "Oh God, how could you do this to me?"

He spent the night sleeping on the beach in utter desolation, but was awakened by the sound of a ship's siren and looking over the bay he saw a large passenger liner, hove to and a motor launch heading towards the island. He warmly greeted his rescuers and then asked, "How did you know I was here?" "We saw your smoke distress signal and immediately altered course towards the island."