All Glory is Fleeting
The Bear Skin
Ben and Pete went out bear hunting. For four days they saw nothing. Each night they slept in a nearby village, bragging about how they were going to shoot a trophy bear and pledging part of the bear’s skin against the cost of their hotel room and food. On the fifth day a huge bear appeared, and Ben said nervously to his friend, “I don’t mind confessing that I’m afraid to take a shot at this bear.” Pete laughed, “Just leave it to me.” So Ben scrambled like lightning up the nearest tree, and Pete stood with his gun at the ready. The bear came lumbering on, and Pete began to grow more and more scared. At length he raised his gun to his shoulder, but by now he was trembling so much that, before he could take proper aim, his gun went off and missed the target. Pete, remembering that bears never touch a dead body, threw himself flat and held his breath. The bear came up real close to Pete, sniffed all around him and finally took off. Ben, who had been watching the whole affair from his tree, now came down and, congratulating Pete on his amazing escape asked him, “What did the bear whisper in your ear?”, asked Ben; to which Pete sheepishly replied “Don’t sell the bearskin before you catch the bear” Talk is cheap.
The Horse That Wanted More Beauty
A cosmic god had a horse. The horse was beautiful and also it had many good qualities. But it wanted to be more perfect in every way. It especially wanted to become beauty unparalleled. One day the horse said to the cosmic god, “O Lord, you have given me beauty. You have given me other good qualities. I am so grateful to you. But how I wish you could make me more beautiful. I would be extremely, extremely grateful if you could make me more beautiful.” The cosmic god said, “I am more than ready to make you more beautiful. Tell me in what way you want to be changed.” The horse said, “It seems to me that I am not well proportioned. My neck is too short. If you can make my neck a little longer, my upper body will be infinitely more beautiful. And if you can make my legs much longer and thinner, then I will look infinitely more beautiful in my lower body.” The cosmic god said, “Amen.” Then immediately he made a camel appear in place of the horse. The horse was so disheartened that it started to cry, “O Lord, I wanted to become more beautiful. In what way is this kind of outer form more beautiful?”
The cosmic god said, “This is exactly what you asked for. You have become a camel.” The horse cried, “Oh no, I do not want to become a camel, I wish to remain a horse. As a horse, everybody appreciated my good qualities. Nobody will appreciate me as a camel.” The cosmic god said, “Never try to achieve or receive more than I have given you. If you want to lead a life of desire, then at every moment you will want more and more. But you have no idea what the outcome will be. If you cry for a longer neck and legs, this is what will happen. Each thing in my creation has its own good qualities. The camel is not as beautiful as you are, but it carries heavy loads and has a tremendous sense of responsibility. We should humbly accept the gifts that we have been given.”
HUMBLE CHICKEN
When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line. “Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?” “Sorry,” the woman told him. “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.” “But I’m starved,” the governor said.”Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.”Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. “Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state.” “Do you know who I am?” the woman said. “I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.”
