shoot me if you don't like my pecking?" it taunted. The boy shot
his arrow repeatedly, but the bird was too quick, and the arrow
always missed.
Finally, exhausted from chasing the arrow and deflecting the bird,
the boy sat down in the sparse shade of a dead tree. The vulture,
lighting on one of the dry branches above the boy, sat triumphantly
preening and smirking, and even plucked a few old feathers to drop
on the boy's head in contempt. "There's for your pains, feeble
one," the bird said haughtily.
The boy, however, would not be defeated. Carefully he collected the
feathers, fixed them to his stick, and with the resultantly accurate
arrow, shot the surprised vulture through the heart.
* In our pride we often unwittingly give our enemies the means to
destroy us.
* Perseverance and ingenuity, even in the face of humiliation and
defeat, will at last succeed.
[Suggested by Aesop, "The Eagle and Arrow"]
Three Flat Tires
Once in the fullness and complexity of human existence three cars
left the same party one rainy night and took three different roads
on the way home. Oddly enough, at approximately the same time, each
car suffered a flat tire, and the young couples inside suddenly
found their evening and their lives somewhat different from what
they had been expecting.
The young lady riding in the first car became instantly upset.
"Well, this is just great," she said to her escort with
understandable disgust. "I knew I should have driven; then this
never would have happened. How could you be so careless when we're
all dressed up like this, anyway?"
"I'm sorry," the young man replied, getting out of the car. "I'll
fix it as fast as I can." He quickly retrieved the jack and the
spare tire and began to puzzle over the repair. In a minute the
young lady was at his side.
"You don't even know what you're doing, do you?" she asked.
"Well, not really, but I think I can figure it out," he told
her honestly.
"No you won't. I want this done right," the young lady answered, as
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