Michael's Fables....
[Copyright Michael Llenos 2016]
Philosophical Parables by Michael Llenos [2016]
1. The One that saw Correctly
Three times the mountain wolves came down from the hills to try to hunt for beavers in their island stronghold.
Each time they did so the beavers would destroy the top portion of their huge dam so the wolves could not cross over to their island. Before leaving the hills for their next attempt, one of the wolves stood out in their midst saying: "Let's send out a smaller party in advance to take the dam before the beavers destroy are plans once again!"
[Do not take too long to learn from simple mistakes.]
2. The Camel in the Desert
A man dying of thirst in the desert saw a camel in the distance. The man used all of his strength to reach the camel. But as soon as he grabbed the camel by the neck it ran off. "Wo is me!" cried the man. "My salvation was in my hands and not in my feet!"
[Hope must be tempered with wisdom.]
3. A Whale or a Shark
A woman who fell overboard in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean saw her life raft ten meters away. Suddenly a large fish-like animal started swimming towards her on the surface from the opposite direction. Not knowing whether it was a whale or a shark, the woman was paralyzed with fear and didn't know what to do. Finally the fish, which was a large shark, swallowed her whole.
[Fear can destroy you if you give it enough time.]
4. The House and the Tornado
There was a Midwestern man from the city who bought a house in the suburbs without a basement. He figured he could save money by installing one himself. However, before he could build a basement a tornado came and killed him inside his home.
[Money should not be honored more than one's life.]
5. The Two Humanists
One day Michel De Montaigne and Niccolo Machiavelli were arguing with each other saying that
they themselves were the better philosopher. A student of both men walked up and said: "Reading both your written works is better than reading just one of them."
[Getting an college education is a win-win situation.]
6. The Weak Soldier
A young man enlisted into the Army at the age of seventeen. Although he was scrawny and weak in appearance at the time of enlistment, he (after many years of soldiering) reached his early prime in the Army as a fierce and muscular soldier.
[Even cowards can become brave and strong with enough training and application.]
7. The Two Generals
Two armies were fighting on the battlefield for control of the continent. One general told his subordinate officers to lay a trap for the enemy like pretending to be frightened rabbits. The other general never read inside of any history book describing the trap being laid, so he mistakenly sent his forward cavalry into the trap were they were ambushed and killed.
[Parables and fables can have as much good instruction in them as historical facts.]
8. The Two Insects
A locust was having a hard time supporting a crumb of bread on its head as it trudged along. An ant walked by easily carrying a much bigger piece on its back. "How are you able to carry such a huge crumb with such ease?" asked the locust. The ant answered back: "Maybe because I've been doing this all of my life!"
[A person can be good at almost anything with enough time and effort.]
9. The Scales
There was a good farmer who brought his bell-peppers to the town market for sale. As he was being paid by one of the vendors, he noticed that another farmer was receiving much more per pound for his produce. Curiously, the good farmer asked why he got less money for his bell-peppers. The vendor replied: "Oh, I pay extra to that farmer because he's married to my cousin."
[To be truly aided by friends, family, country, strangers, or even Jesus Christ: one must first try to benefit them.]
10. The Whale and the Shark
On a stormy day, a whale and a shark decided to make a truce for an hour or two, so they could navigate better near the ocean's surface. As they were enjoying each other's company a life raft suddenly came into view. Coming for a closer look it seemed that there were some people inside. "Let's destroy the raft and make a meal of the people!" commented the hungry shark. That was when the whale turned and swatted the shark with its giant tale. Reeling in pain the shark speedily swam away. "Serves you right," retorted the whale. "You forgot that I save people, not eat them!"
[Be cautious on who is seated next to you. You don't know if there next action will be good or bad.]
11. Socrates' Relativity
Two young men of Athens, who were heading towards school in the morning,
were both at opposite ends of the spectrum as to whether the dinner-party they went to last night did any good for their pleasure.
"The wine was just too much for me to handle..." said one youth. "Heck, I enjoyed both wine and fruit!" commented the other.
When they arrived at school, they told Socrates their differences of opinion. "Is there any reason for your astonishment?" asked Socrates.
"Just because something is good for one person, doesn't mean it is good for someone else."
[Everything is relative for two or more people.]
12. The Laws of Life
A freshman girl sat down for her first class of High School. She noticed two people sat in front of her (in the same row)
that were polar opposites in character: one being a tough jock and the other an older (but definitely shorter) teenage girl who
was the captain of the chess club. The jock began to irritate the girl in front of him when she suddenly turned around and let him have
it with a wind of words. The freshman was surprised that the jock backed down and apologized after.
[There are laws with everything in our universe. The more you know these laws the more successful you will be in life.]
The End.
[All Texts Copyrighted Michael Llenos 2000-2016]