Friday, October 14, 2011

Once Upon a Pile of Seeds; A FABLE

Once upon a time there was a man who had a fine sack of seeds. How he got them is not important. What is important is that he was used to having very little and now he had plenty.

He pondered his seeds, wondering what to do with them.

He could grind them and eat them. That would last him quite a while.

He could plant them all, there was land enough to do that. However he was afraid that if he did so, something bad would happen.

Perhaps a drought would cause the plants to wither and die. Perhaps a flood would drown them. So he thought some more, and decided he should only plant a few of the seeds. That way, if he was very careful, they might last him the rest of his life.

A neighbor stopped by one day and commented on his wonderful and impressive hoard of seeds. "How fortunate you are" he was told, "to have such a wealth of seeds."

He thought, briefly, about sharing some of his seeds, but fear reminded him that if he squandered them he might run out. He would be better off keeping them all for himself.

He worried some more and wondered if he should even plant ANY of the seeds. Perhaps the smartest thing would be to save them ALL. So the bag of seeds sat there, and he sat admiring them. He felt like such a very lucky fellow.

He dumped the seeds into a pile and admired them whenever he could. He felt like a king! Then one day a great wind came and blew many of the seeds away. He was upset about this, of course, and put what was left back into the sack. He tied it shut, tightly, so he would not lose any more.

Time passed and he noticed that the seeds seemed less somehow. At first he thought he was imagining it, he didn't want it to be true. But eventually he had to admit to himself that his seeds were dwindling.

How could this be? Were the seeds shrinking? No, they looked to be the same size. Was a neighbor sneaking by & stealing seeds in the nighttime? He was so fearful this was the case that he decided to sleep outside next to them.

He did this for the rest of the summer, determined to protect what was his. In spite of his best efforts, the sack got smaller & smaller. He did not understand! he became afraid to sleep at all.

People began to wonder what was wrong. He was no longer friendly, it seemed he did not trust anyone. He was no longer happy, all he did was worry. His spirit was shriveling up and he became less.

By the end of summer he was a mess. The last of the seeds had vanished and he was miserable. He might as well be dead, he had nothing left. Life didn't seem worth living.

The townsfolk talked amongst themselves. How can we help our neighbor, they wondered? What in the world is wrong with our dear old friend?

Then they had an idea. “Let's have a party for him and cheer him up!” So they all brought a little food and drink, some music to be made, and their caring and love. However, he was so sad he couldn't even appreciate their effort. “Go away” he said, “I don't feel very lovable. I am a loser, I have lost everything and it is hopeless.”

"What are you talking about", they asked? "Look around you!" And he did, for the first time in a long long while. As far as he could see, there were lush happy plants, bursting with new seeds. His friends all pitched in and helped him with the harvest. At the end of the day he had a pile of seeds bigger than he had to begin with.

I guess I don't need that much seed after all” he thought to himself. He decided it would be wise to share what he had with the others. "Help yourself " he offered. "Take what you need. There will always be more."

Everyone went home with a sack of seeds, and he still had a good pile left. Now, he thought to himself, I must figure out a place to put them where the mice can't steal them all... and he did.

(He hangs them from a tree, & the birds steal them instead!)

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