A secret is nothing more than a shred of truth that we fear.
Author unknown
Aesop's Fables
The Fox and the Goat
A Fox one day fell into a deep well and could find no means of escape. A Goat, overcome with thirst, came to the same well, and seeing the Fox, inquired if the water was good. Concealing his sad plight under a merry guise, the Fox indulged in a lavish praise of the water, saying it was excellent beyond measure, and encouraging him to descend. The Goat, mindful only of his thirst, thoughtlessly jumped down, but just as he drank, the Fox informed him of the difficulty they were both in and suggested a scheme for their common escape. "If," said he, "you will place your forefeet upon the wall and bend your head, I will run up your back and escape, and will help you out afterwards." The Goat readily assented and the Fox leaped upon his back. Steadying himself with the Goat's horns, he safely reached the mouth of the well and made off as fast as he could. When the Goat upbraided him for breaking his promise, he turned around and cried out, "You foolish old fellow! If you had as many brains in your head as you have hairs in your beard, you would never have gone down before you had inspected the way up, nor have exposed yourself to dangers from which you had no means of escape."
MORAL: Look before you leap
The Goatherd and the Wild Goats
A Goatherd, driving his flock from their pasture at eventide, found some Wild Goats mingled among them, and shut them up together with his own for the night. The next day it snowed very hard, so that he could not take the herd to their usual feeding places, but was obliged to keep them in the fold. He gave his own goats just sufficient food to keep them alive, but fed the strangers more abundantly in the hope of enticing them to stay with him and of making them his own. When the thaw set in, he led them all out to feed, and the Wild Goats scampered away as fast as they could to the mountains. The Goatherd scolded them for their ingratitude in leaving him, when during the storm he had taken more care of them than of his own herd. One of them, turning about, said to him: "That is the very reason why we are so cautious; for if you yesterday treated us better than the Goats you have had so long, it is plain also that if others came after us, you would in the same manner prefer them to ourselves."
MORAL: Old friends cannot with impunity be sacrificed for new ones.
The Sun and the Wind
Once upon a time...the Wind bragged to the sun about his great strength. "See how I can bend the strongest trees and watch how I can strip the leaves from their branches." said the Wind.
The Sun replied that he could melt the snow and make the flowers grow.
"That is true," said the Wind, "But I am much more powerful than you and I shall prove it. See that traveler wearing a cape down there? The one who can get his cape off first is the strongest. Agreed?"
"That seeems fair to me," said the Sun. "You can try first."
The Wind gathered all his forces and started to blow as hard as he could. Great black clouds rolled across the sky and it grew very dark. The Wind blew so hard he bent the trees and caused some to break. Leaves swirled all around, but the stronger the wind blew, the more the traveler clutched his cape. In fact, it became so cold that the traveler wrapped himself in his cape tighter than ever. Finally the Wind gave up and told the Sun to take his turn.
The Sun put a smile on his round face and beamed down on the traveler. The storm clouds disappeared and the air became soft and warm. This sudden change in the weather suprised the traveler and pleased him greatly. As the travler walked on, the Sun continued to shine, and his rays warmed the traveler so much that before too long he took off his cape and tucked it under his arm.
At that moment, the Sun smiled gently at the Wind, and there was never again another argument about who was stronger.
MORAL: Gentleness is often more effetive than force.
Belling the Cat
Once upon a time...A long time ago there was a great gathering of mice. The mice had come together to try to find a way to keep themselves safe from their enemy, the cat. They sat around the barn in a big circle wiggling their whiskers and swishing their long tails and looking very important indeed. Some mice said, "Lets's do this," and others said, "Let's do that," but no one idea appealed to all of them. Suddenly a young mouse called Bright Eyes drew himself up very tall and said in a loud voice, "I have the answer that will keep us safe from the cat for all time." "What is it? What is it?" squeaked all the other mice. "Well," said Bright Eyes," the main reason we get caught so often by the cat is that the cat moves so quietly she is upon us before we have a chance to escape. "True! True!" Shouted all the other mice at once. If we can find a way to know when the cat is coming," continued Bright Eyes, "we could scatter and hide and not ever be caught again. Here is my idea. I propose that we get a small bell and tie it around the cat's neck with a ribbon. The moment the cat makes the slightest movement, the bell will ring and we will be warned in plenty of time to escape. The cat will never be able to sneak up on up again!" "What a great idea!", The other mice exclaimed. Happy that a solution had been found, they began to talk excitedly about whether the bell should be brass or silver and what color ribbon to use. Sitting in a corner all this time was a vey old mouse who had listened carefully to everything that had been said. The old mouse finally spoke up. "What Bright Eyes has suggested is all very well, but please tell me...who is going to bell the cat?" There was silence as they realized with shame that not one of them would be willing to volunteer.
MORAL: It is easier to talk about doing great deeds than it is to accomplish them.
The Eagle and the Crow
Once upon a time...A crow was sitting on a tree branch, when he spied an eagle landing on the ground below him. The eagle was carrying a large nut in his beak. The eagle tried to open the nut by banging the hard shell on the ground. The crow watched as the eagle tried and tried to crack the shell, and he wondered how he might take the nut from the powerful eagle. Finally the crow said, "I don't think you will open the nut like that.." "Oh really," said the eagle in an annoyed tone of voice, and with that he tried again even harder. He did everything he could think of and still the nut would not open. After a while the eagle looked up at the crow, and although he hated to ask, he said, "What would you do in my place?" "Well," said the crow, "If I were you , I'd fly very high in the sky with the nut and than drop it onto the rocks over there." With one wing the crow pointed to a large group of boulders nearby. "It's the only way that hard shell will ever crack." said the wily crow. "I must admit you have a good idea," said the eagle. And with that, the eagle grabbed the nut in his strong claws and flew high in the sky. The crow watched the eagle become smaller and smaller as he flew higher and higher. Then, at last, when the eagle was just a speck in the sky, he released the nut. Down it dropped, down, down onto the rocks. Sure enough, when the nut hit the rocks it cracked open just as the crow said it would. Because the eagle was so high in the sky, he took a long time to return. Meanwhile, the crow hopped over to the broken nut, gobbled up the sweet kernel, and flew off chuckling to himself. By the time the eagle flew back down, he found nothing left but pieces of broken shell.
MORAL: Before accepting advice, it is wise to consider the source.
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Brightest of Blessings