Modern
Fables
Meat A scientist after trying very hard, finally made contact with an extra-terrestrial in a far-off planet. " Where are you calling from?" asked the extraterrestrial. "From planet Earth" answered the scientist. "How many are you on that planet?" asked the extra-terrestrial. "Five billions, not counting other life-forms" "What are you made of?" " Water, protein, carbohydrate, and fat" replied the scientist. Back on the other planet, the extra-terrestrial turned to his colleague and said:- "I cannot believe my luck. You know our people have been starving. I have just discovered a planet where there are at least 5 billions life-forms made up of water, protein, carbohydrate and fat. The lesson is too obvious for me to point it out.
The Two Ecologists and the Wolf Two ecologists were travelling through a thick forest, when they came face to face with a huge wolf. However their terror turned to surprise when the wolf shook their hands and spoke to them in a educated Oxford accent :- "Gentlemen! I cannot tell you how exceedingly pleased I am to see you, for I am very hungry. Let me reassure you, though. I am an ecological wolf and thoroughly disapprove of wasting resources. Just one of you will suffice for my dinner. Now the ecologists started arguing about who should volunteer to be the wolf’s dinner. They would have come to blows if the wolf had not interposed:- "Gentlemen! I would hate to see two good friends fight about such a trivial matter. May I suggest that you toss a coin, and let chance decide who shall be my dinner" So it was done. After the wolf had finished his dinner, he said to the remaining ecologist:- "Your friend was delicious! I must tell you that I have read your studies on ‘The scientific management of game resources’ and ‘Modern ecological practice’. I support your position entirely. The originality of your thinking and succinctness of your exposition are models of scientific clarity." The ecologist was overwhelmed by these compliments." I have myself," said the wolf," written a few papers on the subject of game management, and would be delighted to share my thoughts with you. Were you not travelling north when I met you? Shall we continue on our journey as we pursue our discussion?" And so they travelled on, all the while engaged in a most learned discussion.After a while the wolf said:- "I hate to interrupt you, my dear friend. All this talk about food has made me hugry. As you know, I am very ecological, but I am a wolf."
The Sunflower and the Sun A newly opened sunflower glowed liked a jewel in the morning . A ray of sun glided to it like a golden ladder. " O sun" said the sunflower "I am just like you. I love you, I feel part of you. How I wish I could reach all the way to you, be in you, so I could shine with dazzling glory just like you!" The sun answered " Dear little sunflower; don’t you realise? the warmth you feel, the light that bathes you are part of my fire. If you come any nearer, the intensity of my love will consume you."
The Plum Tree Once a group of people were travelling across the countryside. It was a hot summer day and after a while they got very thirsty. They could not find a spring and were getting quite desperate when luckily they came upon a plum tree. The plum tree was laden with plums and quite a few were ripe upon the tree. A gentle shake and quite a few ripe plums fell on the ground. The travellers blessed their luck and quenched their thirst and sated their hunger. When they were about to depart they thought they would shake the tree a bit more and take some plums with them in case they got thirsty on the way. Still after that there were still some plums on the tree, so they felt it would be nice to bring some home to make some jam. Afterwards they shook the tree some more to get some plums for their friends. At this point the tree had yielded most of its fruits except for some fruits at the very top. Though they really had no use for more plums they kept on shaking the tree until they uprooted it. P.S. I thought at first of dedicating this fable to the politicians in office. After careful consideration I feel that this would be unfair to the rest of us. So I am dedicating this fable to all of us.
The Pilot and the Angel A pilot was flying his jet plane high above the clouds when suddenly, through his window, he saw an angel flying alongside his plane. It was a beautiful angel, who smiled and waved at him. The pilot opened his window to let the angel in, and was immediately sucked out the plane by the "Venturi effect". The lesson of this story is never to mix fact and fancy. Or you will crash.
The Old Man and God An old man lay dying. He had led a hard life. He had done many bad things in his life and some good ones. As he lay on his death bed, he called his eldest daughter and said: " I feel the angel of death prowling around me like a beast of prey. I would like to prepare myself for the crossing. I would like to be left alone for I have a few things to set in order in my own mind." And he settled his head back upon his pillow. Now his daughter was very religious. She was terrified that her father might die in sin, and go to hell after his death. Although she had been requested otherwise, she took it upon herself to call a priest to administer to her dying father. The priest came with due diligence, and his entrance into the dying man’s room surprised and somewhat irritated the latter. However the dying man was a civil person and though his time was measured, talked to him courteously. After a few banalities, the priest said to him: " In a few hours, my good man, you will be facing your maker" The dying man looked at him, smiled and answered: "Who are you then, sir, to come between me and my maker". Then his head dropped back and he died.
The Man and his Double A man in that wonderful country of Aphrenia was feeling very lonesome and thought to himself:- " Woud’nt it be wonderful if there were another being just like myself. sharing the same thoughts, the same tastes and desires?" So he prayed to God for a double. God, being well-disposed towards him did send him a double. For dinner they chose the same menu, the same wines. Afterwards they chose the same show, and agreed precisely on its merits and defects. It was wonderful! They had a little argument as to who would drive the car; but this was a minor affair. It was not so minor when they found they competed for the same prizes and had to share the honours. Things got worse when they realised they wanted the same woman, and worse still, that she wanted them both. Finally the man killed his double!
The Goat Once in a village in a remote corner of Aphrenia, there lived a fellow who was utterly unprincipled. He had abominable and unspeakable affairs with all kinds of women. They called him " The goat " The village folk did not know what to do with him. So they convened a meeting. The elder was the first to speak: " I suggest" said he, " since we are twelve families in this village, that each family keep him for one month. That way he will be under constant surveillance and we will keep a tight leash on him. It would not really be fair to send him to another village." It sounded like a great idea, but nobody wanted to be the first one to have him. In fact, nobody probably wanted to have him in their house at all. They were afraid for the safety of their wives and daughters. "What about making him the village school teacher?" said an old lady." We know that reading improves the mind. Surely, from reading all the great writers, his morals will improve, and the whole village will benefit from it". However the assembly would hear none of it. They were afraid of entrusting the tender minds and bodies of their children to such a dissolute fellow. Then somebody else had another idea that seemed so sensible that nobody in his right mind would reject it." I have it" said he. "let’s make him our pastor. With God as his guide and the holy books his daily reading, who can doubt that he will keep the straight and narrow path?" This proposal had some support, specially from the women, but was finally rejected. His cloak of infamy would be a disservice to religion they felt; and who could tell how he would behave as a pastor? Finally, when all hope of resolving the issue seemed lost, an old fellow who had seemed asleep during the whole proceeding got up and said" I have it! Let’s make him our President!" It was such an obvious solution that it was instantly adopted.
The Drop of Water At a springhead, a drop of water came up among newly born flowers and freshly opened leaves. It landed trembling on a tender leaf and saw a young flower opening its petals above him. "Why! I can see the whole sky reflected in you" said the flower. "you are a wonderful mirror. The clouds and the birds sail across your face" And the flower stretched out its lovely petals and unfurled its leaves. "I do hope you will stay with us a long time" "This is beautiful indeed" said the drop of water, but I must join up with that little stream over there" "Why? " asked the flower. "the wind will evaporate you ; the sun will dry you up. Where do you want to go?" "To the sea" replied the drop of water. "You will never reach the sea" said the flower. "The whole stream will dry up before it reaches the river." It hurts me to hear this" said the drop of water. "Please undrstand, I come from the sea . I must go back to the sea"
One to Ten A young boy who had just started kindergarten, came back home very proud of himself. "What did you learn at school to-day?" asked his mother. " I learnt to count all the numbers," said the boy. " All the numbers?" queried the mother. "What are they?" The boy proudly counted one to ten. "That’s very good," said the mother. "As you learn more, you will learn that there are bigger numbers" " No, there are not!" said the boy. " I assure you, there are," said the mother. "Why should there be?" replied the boy. "I only need one to ten to count all my fingers on my hands". (He meant digits, of course!). Lesson: It is not unusual for those who know a little to think they know it all.
The Yew Tree Once a man looking for some wood, found a beautiful yew tree in a forest. Its trunk was straight, its limbs clean and supple. The man thought: "What a beautiful tree! How regular its branches. I am sure some fine bows could be made out of this tree". The tree pleaded with the man to spare its life. "I am useful " said the yew tree " I give shade to my surroundings; birds joyfully inhabit my branches." But the man would not be moved. He cut down the tree, despite its pleadings. He sold the wood to a bow-maker who, indeed, made some fine bows from it. The bow-maker sold one of the bows he had made, to the enemy of the man who had cut down the tree. That man then lay in wait for the one who had cut down the yew-tree, and shot him with a bow that had been made from the wood of that tree. Sometimes in mysterious ways, our bad actions come back to hurt us.
The Worm and the Robin A robin had died and been re-incarnated as a worm. One day this worm coming up from the ground for some fresh air, saw a robin on a nearby branch and recognised him as his son. He shouted frantically:- " Hello there! hello there, my son", until the robin noticed him. The robin hopped to the ground. The robin realising that the intent of the robin was in fact to eat him, shouted:- "Son, I am your dad!" "I do not know what you are talking about" said the robin, "You my dad? You look like a perfectly good worm to me." And he ate him. Morality: Those dearest to you are those that can hurt you the deepest.
The Two Shoes Two shoes, shod to the feet of a traveller kept arguing the whole length of the journey:- " I am ahead of you" " No, I am ahead of you" At the end of the day, they were still arguing:- " I finished ahead of you" "No, I finished ahead of you" The weary traveller pulled them off, looked at them. "These look pretty worn", he said. "No wonder my feet are hurting! " And he tossed them in the garbage bin.
The Two Feet and the Sea Two feet had spent the whole long day trudging along a dry and dirty path. At the end of the journey their master pulled off his shoes and socks and dipped his feet into the cool water of the sea. The clear water soaked through the cracked dry skin." This is so beautiful," cried the feet. "Why do we have to suffer so much on the road. Could not we just spend the whole day soaking in the sea?" Life is like a longing for the feet to get back to the sea.
Copyright © 1999 Gérard Ducasse |