Rocks fall, everyone dies -

I don't know, but I'm sure other people have some verbal traditions within their families when it comes to dealing with certain subjects. These two parables have been told quite freely from time to time. Have you ever heard them?

A sparrow, lost and separated from its flock during the fall migration, gets stranded alone during an early snowstorm where he can't see or hear where he is, thrown to the ground he was - buried in the snow. Soon, he's going to freeze to death, he's so cold!

What he doesn't know, is that he's in a pasture full of dairy cows. Trying to free himself from the clot of snow he's fallen into, a cow walks over him - and as luck would have it, dumps a load on top of him.

It's smelly, awful - and warm! Able to free himself from the manure, he sings out of pure joy of being able to see where he is and warm enough to know he's going to be okay!

Hearing the bird singing, a local fox steals quickly into the pasture, frees him from his stinky situation...and gobbles him up.

MORAL: Someone who takes a dump on you isn't always doing it out of malice; and someone who notices you making a racket because you're in shit and gets you out of it, isn't always doing you a favor.

The other?

There once was a boy with a terrible temper. After being lectured by his father over fights picked with his brothers, sisters, friends and schoolmates, he is taken to the backyard with its white picket fence. His father has brought a bag of nails and a hammer.

"For every time you've lost your temper with another person, hammer a nail into this fence." Doing as he was told, there was shortly a neat row of three-penny nails hammered into the fence.

"Now son. For each time you've apologized for losing your temper, remove the nail." Again, for he was at heart a good child, he removed each nail.

"See what you've left behind?" said the father, pointing towards the fence. For there was indeed a very nice, neat row of holes where the nails had been. "That is the harm you've done with your temper that can't be undone. What you've done to your reputation, their feelings, their trust...things that can't be unmade again. Remember this the next time you want to take out your frustrations on someone with your temper. And find another way, instead."

( Now, I've told you those stories so I can tell you this one... )

Rocks fall, everyone dies -

I don't know, but I'm sure other people have some verbal traditions within their families when it comes to dealing with certain subjects. These two parables have been told quite freely from time to time. Have you ever heard them?

A sparrow, lost and separated from its flock during the fall migration, gets stranded alone during an early snowstorm where he can't see or hear where he is, thrown to the ground he was - buried in the snow. Soon, he's going to freeze to death, he's so cold!

What he doesn't know, is that he's in a pasture full of dairy cows. Trying to free himself from the clot of snow he's fallen into, a cow walks over him - and as luck would have it, dumps a load on top of him.

It's smelly, awful - and warm! Able to free himself from the manure, he sings out of pure joy of being able to see where he is and warm enough to know he's going to be okay!

Hearing the bird singing, a local fox steals quickly into the pasture, frees him from his stinky situation...and gobbles him up.

MORAL: Someone who takes a dump on you isn't always doing it out of malice; and someone who notices you making a racket because you're in shit and gets you out of it, isn't always doing you a favor.

The other?

There once was a boy with a terrible temper. After being lectured by his father over fights picked with his brothers, sisters, friends and schoolmates, he is taken to the backyard with its white picket fence. His father has brought a bag of nails and a hammer.

"For every time you've lost your temper with another person, hammer a nail into this fence." Doing as he was told, there was shortly a neat row of three-penny nails hammered into the fence.

"Now son. For each time you've apologized for losing your temper, remove the nail." Again, for he was at heart a good child, he removed each nail.

"See what you've left behind?" said the father, pointing towards the fence. For there was indeed a very nice, neat row of holes where the nails had been. "That is the harm you've done with your temper that can't be undone. What you've done to your reputation, their feelings, their trust...things that can't be unmade again. Remember this the next time you want to take out your frustrations on someone with your temper. And find another way, instead."

( Now, I've told you those stories so I can tell you this one... )

Rocks fall, everyone dies -

I don't know, but I'm sure other people have some verbal traditions within their families when it comes to dealing with certain subjects. These two parables have been told quite freely from time to time. Have you ever heard them?

A sparrow, lost and separated from its flock during the fall migration, gets stranded alone during an early snowstorm where he can't see or hear where he is, thrown to the ground he was - buried in the snow. Soon, he's going to freeze to death, he's so cold!

What he doesn't know, is that he's in a pasture full of dairy cows. Trying to free himself from the clot of snow he's fallen into, a cow walks over him - and as luck would have it, dumps a load on top of him.

It's smelly, awful - and warm! Able to free himself from the manure, he sings out of pure joy of being able to see where he is and warm enough to know he's going to be okay!

Hearing the bird singing, a local fox steals quickly into the pasture, frees him from his stinky situation...and gobbles him up.

MORAL: Someone who takes a dump on you isn't always doing it out of malice; and someone who notices you making a racket because you're in shit and gets you out of it, isn't always doing you a favor.

The other?

There once was a boy with a terrible temper. After being lectured by his father over fights picked with his brothers, sisters, friends and schoolmates, he is taken to the backyard with its white picket fence. His father has brought a bag of nails and a hammer.

"For every time you've lost your temper with another person, hammer a nail into this fence." Doing as he was told, there was shortly a neat row of three-penny nails hammered into the fence.

"Now son. For each time you've apologized for losing your temper, remove the nail." Again, for he was at heart a good child, he removed each nail.

"See what you've left behind?" said the father, pointing towards the fence. For there was indeed a very nice, neat row of holes where the nails had been. "That is the harm you've done with your temper that can't be undone. What you've done to your reputation, their feelings, their trust...things that can't be unmade again. Remember this the next time you want to take out your frustrations on someone with your temper. And find another way, instead."

( Now, I've told you those stories so I can tell you this one... )