Owl’s Fables
The Circle
One day a wise owl was perched on the highest branch of his favorite tree, enjoying the beautiful morning. His eyes caught sight of a grasshopper down below. Feeling a bit social and wishing to converse with his neighbor, he flew down to the lowest branch and said:
“Good morning, Sister Grasshopper. How are you doing today?”
The grasshopper was in a foul mood. She said “oh dear, Mr. Owl, I’m not having a good day. I am so sick and tired of these frogs chasing me all over the place. They try to eat me! I don’t know why they’re so mean!”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said the owl with sympathy.
“Oh no!” said the grasshopper. “I have to go. A frog is coming this way!” And off she hopped in a hurry.
The frog passed under the tree and the owl said:
“Good morning, Brother Frog. How are you doing today?”
“I can’t find enough to eat,” said the frog sadly. “And what’s worse, I’m having to run from these terrible cats! They’re always trying to eat me! They chase me and chase me, even at night. They have no respect for my sleep. I can’t get a moment’s rest!”
“Oh dear,” said the owl. “That sounds like a terrible predicament.”
“It is,” said the frog. “But that’s just the way life is, I guess. I can’t do anything about it. Oh, I have to go. I see a cat prowling nearby. Goodbye, Mr. Owl.” And off he hopped.
The cat wandered by the tree, sniffing around with playful curiosity. The owl said:
“Good morning, Sister Cat. How are you doing today?”
“Oh, I’m not happy at all,” said the cat. “I’m so tired of these foxes always chasing me. They’re terribly scary and I have to run for my life. I can’t even escape them by running up the trees because they can climb trees too! They’re just so bothersome!”
“That sounds terrible,” said the owl. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
“Oh no, here comes a fox now,” said the cat. “I have to run. You’re so lucky you can just fly away.” And with that, the cat bolted.
The fox wandered under the tree, looking mildly distressed.
“Good morning, Brother Fox,” said the owl. “How are you doing today?”
“It’s been a difficult morning,” said the fox. “The hounds are out today and they’ve been chasing me all over the forest! I’m just trying to mind my own business and they insist on harassing me.”
“Oh my goodness, what a tough day” said the owl, feeling quite despondent by this time. “I’m really sorry to hear that. It sounds like a very difficult situation.”
“Oh, it’s the worst. I wish there was some way to finally escape them, but there’s nothing I can do. My only option is to just keep running. Here they come - gotta go!” And the fox ran off quickly.
The owl was hoping to hear some good news from the hounds. Surely dogs, with their favored place besides their human masters, are happy?
“Good morning, Brother Hound,” said the owl. “How are you doing today?”
The hound replied: “Terrible! Just terrible! My master is driving me so hard today. I barely got enough sleep looking after the flock of sheep last night, and today he wants me to catch that wiley fox! I always have to work so hard! And master was so grumpy this morning he yelled at me!”
“Dear Brother, that is troublesome,” said the owl. “Is there anything you can do?”
“Not a thing,” said the hound. “Oh, here comes the master now. I have to go!” And the hound sped off in the direction the fox had gone.
The owl was feeling quite sad that all of the creatures were so unhappy.
The farmer wandered under the tree. “Now where did that darn dog go? He should have caught that fox by now.”
“Good morning, Brother Farmer,” said the owl. “I hope you are well today?”
“Wish I were,” said the farmer. “But my dog is not obeying me today. And last night a bunch of those terrible grasshoppers came by and ate much of my crops! They tore through my garden like a swarm of locusts! Now what am I supposed to do? Terrible creatures, having no respect for an honest farmer’s hard work!”
“Oh dear,” said the owl. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
“Never mind,” said the farmer. “It’s just the way things are. Can’t do anything about it.” And with that, the farmer stalked angrily off.
My goodness, thought the owl. The view from down here is bleak indeed!
The owl had had quite enough conversation with his neighbors for one day. So he flew back to the top branch of his favorite tree, where the view was really quite lovely. Perched comfortably on the highest branch, the owl could finally feel at peace again and he settled in to get some sleep.
Moral: If you play the victim of one, you will no doubt be the villain of another.
Moral: The view is best from a higher perspective.
