The Fire And The River - A Parable

 

Once upon a time, there was a pretty village, built up in the hills over a river.

The village had at one time been quite prosperous.There were fish to be caught,game, berries, nuts and fruit to be gathered in the nearby woods and even pelts and other goods that the village traded to other villages along the river.

But over time, the village had become rundown and less prosperous. The village chiefs, their followers and ceremonial guards devoted less time to keeping the village in good repair and wealthy. Game became scarce as the animals gradually left the nearby forest, but there were few hunting parties looking for new sources of meat and hides. Fishing boats and their nets were neglected and the village buildings themselves became rundown and seedy, except for the huts where the chiefs and their friends and followers lived.

Part of the reason for the decline was that the chiefs, their families, their closest supporters and their ceremonial guards seemed to concentrate less on the village and the people's well being then they did on demanding and hoarding a bigger and bigger share of what wealth the villagers produced for themselves.

Those whom openly complained about this or those whom were caught trying to secretly keep more of what they hunted and gathered for themselves instead of handing it over to the authorities were publicly shamed before the whole tribe, and sometimes even beaten by the guards and thrown in a makeshift jail. But the murmuring continued, and the people of the village became more and more discontented with their lot.

Then came the day of the Great Fire.

 

It broke out in the woods just below the village and leapt up the hills, destroying everything before it and heading towards the village itself. Many years ago, the villager had erected an artificial pool of river water with a sluice for exactly this purpose, to fight any fires that broke out. But like much else in the village, the pool had been neglected. Too much of the water had evaporated and not been replaced and there was little time bring more river water up to refill it.

 

The chiefs and their followers tried to restore order but were hampered by the arguments that broke out among them and their followers about whose fault this was and who was supposed to be in charge of the pool. Meanwhile, the flames kept getting closer and closer to the village.

The people of the village likewise had their differences. Some took cisterns down to the river to fill it with water, even though it was obvious they were going to be too late to stop the fire. "Things are just great here in the village" they cried, even though it had been a long time since things really had been that great there. They believed what their chiefs and village officials had been telling them for months and still trusted them,so they proceeded to do things the same old way.

Many of the villagers hung back, since they could see that the flames had already reached the village and were licking hungrily at the buildings. Some rushed to their huts and brought out a few treasured possessions. But then what?

Believe it or not,an argument broke out among them too!

One man, a rich trader named Donaldus claimed he had an answer. "I know a spot just up the river with a green valley where we can rebuild and make our village great again! i know just how we should do it too. Follow me into the river!"

And many did, jumping into the water from the small ten foot cliff with their belongings and heading down river after Donaldus.

Others refused outright. Donaldus had never been a chief or even a village official. Who did he think he was? Besides, the village way was not to jump off the small cliff, but to walk down the path from the hills. Everybody knew that.

"Donaldus is not only loud,crude and nasty, but he has never had any sense of our village traditions.Only fools like him would follow him. And if his plan's so good, why doesn't he sit down and share all the details with us? What a reckless idiot," some of them said. And their voices were loud.

Others were wracked with uncertainty. "Well, you may be right but look! The fire has already burnt through the village, and it's heading this way towards the cliff. And the path downhill to the river looks like it's almost blocked by the flames. The chiefs and their followers are calling on us to follow them, but I don't think they have any idea of where they're going, just running like a herd of animals."

At this point there was a major division of the people. Some decided to follow their chiefs as best they could, even to disaster. A second group decided they would neither follow Donaldus or the chiefs."Neither of them are worth following." Some of them talked of electing a new chief from among themselves, someone who would lead them in the traditional way down the hill to the river.

Meanwhile, the flames got closer as they talked and argued. And finally a number of them decided to try the leap from the cliff into the river, to the jeers and name calling from the others.

One young man named Brutus finally decided to try to leap off the cliff with his wife and child to the river. But as he walked towards the edge his old friend Marcus tried to dissuade him. "Don't be an idiot and follow that fool Donaldus," he said. "Stay here, stick with our traditions. After the fire, we will rebuild our village and take over from the chiefs. Anyone who follow Donaldus will regret it."

"Marcus, you are well known in the village Councils and speak in the square every day. You have always been a strong voice for our taboos and traditions. But what are you going to do now?" asked Brutus.

"Whatever's left after the fire the chiefs will come back with their guards and rule over. They will be even worse than they were before! We will not be able to change anything, ever. And what about the fire now? It's getting closer!"

"I'm sticking to our traditions and principles," replied Marcus. "Eventually we'll take over somehow, have our own new chiefs and go back to our traditions. Going into the water from the cliff is morally wrong, Donaldus is not to be trusted at all and anyone who does it is stupid."

"But Marcus, if we stay here we burn. Maybe the water's not so bad...people seem to be swimming in it. Maybe Donaldus actually knows what he's talking about. Why not chance it? Those like you who stay here will burn for sure. Or at best, be enslaved even more than they were."

Marcus glared at him. "I'm not going to compromise my principles. I'd rather burn than do that, and you're the one who's going to regret it. Be a fool, jump into the water. I'm not following a idiot and clown like Donaldus."

So Brutus and his family jumped. Surprisingly, they were able to swim in the river easily and even managed to find a small fishing boat to cling to so they could occasionally rest as they swam.

As Brutus looked up at the cliff one last time, he saw the flames encircling it. Then he looked forward, because he had made his choice.

Stone Soup: A Parable

 

Once upon a time, there were some travelers headed for a town some miles away. This being before the days of mass transit, they were going on foot, traveling as a group.

One chilly evening after the day's trek, they were all gathered around the fire and some of the group started talking about cooking a communal meal with everybody pitching in. They had just about decided on doing that when one of them, a middle aged woman with conspicuously high cheekbones spoke up and said, "Ah, if only I had a stone. this would be a perfect night for some delicious stone soup."

"Stone soup?" said one the group. "I've never heard of that. How can you make soup out of a stone?"

"Oh, trust me, it's absolutely delicious" she replied. "And just the thing for a chilly night like this. But I don't have a stone, so...."

Another member of the group piped up, asking, "What's in stone soup? What's it taste like?"

"Oh, it's hard to describe" the woman,whom we'll call High Cheekbones said with a wave of her arm. "I can't really tell you,but once you've had it, you'd love it! So delicious! But of course, without a stone, well, no sense even talking about it."

Another man chimed in, saying "Well, if all you need is a stone, I saw some nice ones back by that river we passed. I could go and get a stone for you."

"Oh, wonderful!" said High Cheekbones. "You do that and I'll make the soup. Best thing you ever tasted."

So the man dutifully got up from the fire and walked back towards the river to get the stone.

While he was gone, High Cheekbones continued to talk to the others abut the stone soup, how good it was and how they were all going to love it.

After about twenty minutes, the man, whose name was Hugo returned to the camp with a round stone about as big as a man's fist. "Will this do?" he asked High Cheekbones.

"Yes, that's fine", she replied. "Oh, but I'm going to need a pot. And some water."

Another man, Ernest, stood up and said, "I have a cauldron. If I go get you some water, can I have some of the soup?"

"Why certainly" said High Cheekbones.

"You know", said Hugo, "If you had mentioned we needed a pot and water, I could have gotten them while I was there, and we could start cooking the stone soup right now. This way, we have to wait for Ernest to come back from the river. And what if he spills some of the water? He'll have to go back again."

"Well", replied High Cheekbones, "That sort of thing happens with a big project like this. But instead of complaining, just think about how delicious the stone soup is going to be when it's done. You're going to absolutely love it!"

About twenty minutes later, Ernest returned with the cauldron and the water,  and Hugo, on High Cheekbone's orders, placed the stone in the bottom.

"What happens now?" said Hugo."Are you going to put it on the fire?"

"Oh,yes, that", sighed High Cheekbones. "I guess we're going to have to figure out some way to to hold the pot over the fire, aren't we? Any ideas?"

"Why of course", replied a third man, LeRoi. "What you need is a trestle made out of two sticks and a pole in between to hang the cauldron on. I would have volunteered to do that before, but no one asked me. Can I have some soup if I go ahead and put that up?"

"Why certainly", said High Cheekbones.

"That's going to mean another delay" said Hugo. "Couldn't you have thought of that before?"

"I can't imagine why you're so mean spirited" High Cheekbones snapped. "It's almost as if you're trying to hog more of the soup for yourself and deny others the opportunity to share in this great project!"

In due course the trestle was completed and the water and the stone placed over the fire.

Several of the other travelers had heard from High Cheekbones over and over again how wonderful the delicious stone soup was going to be, and boy, did they want some!

"Y'know, I was wondering", said one woman named Delores, "Can stone soup have onions  in it? I'm taking some onions to market to sell, and I'd happily contribute a couple of them if I could have some of that delicious stone soup..."

"Well, why not?" responded High Cheekbones. "I've made it that way before, and it's really good with onions.You have my permission to just go ahead and cut them up and put them in."

That started a whole stampede of offers. Another traveler contributed salt, pepper and spices, others offered potatoes, carrots, peas and parsnips, and one man even provided a chicken carcass.Still another, a crockery trader, offered the use of bowls and a large ladle. All were promised a share of the stone soup and all were convinced how absolutely marvelous it was going to be.

After awhile,the fragrant aroma of the soup filled the campsite. Finally, High Cheekbones produced a large tureen from her own belongings and filled it to the brim with the soup. Then she announced to the rest of the group that the soup was done. She then called each traveler by name and served them in turn.

As High Cheekbones doled out the soup to the others and they began to eat, they noticed two things. First of all, the soup, while it was certainly welcome was simply ordinary chicken vegetable, and not the delicacy they had been promised. And second, that they had each received a lot less soup than they expected, and certainly less than High Cheekbones.

The first to voice this discontent was, as you would imagine, Hugo.

"Wait just one minute", he cried. "This is ordinary chicken vegetable soup, and pretty average chicken vegetable at that.We could have made this ourselves, and we were just about to before you came along with this marvelous plan for stone soup. What going on here?"

"Yeah", added Mark, who had contributed the spices. "And I notice you got your soup first, and more than any of us. The amount of soup I got doesn't even cover the cost of the spices I put in!"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing from you two" retorted High Cheekbones. "I create a project that results in something that benefits all of us, and you do nothing but find fault. Okay,you have your spice business, good for you. But you didn't build that alone. The community pays taxes for the watchmen on the roads to make sure your shipments don't get robbed, they pay to maintain the roads, the ships that bring you your spices use wharves we all pay for...so why would you be so greedy as to not want to give a little something back?"

"But I pay those taxes too!" shouted Mark. "Isn't that enough giving back?"

Hugo said, angrily,"You know, I think this whole idea of stone soup was just a trick to get High Cheekbones a free meal. We were talking about making soup on our own anyway. We provided all the stuff to make it, we provided all the labor and if you think about it, we could have done this a lot quicker and more efficiently on our own. The only thing she really contributed was that nonsense to convince us all about how delicious stone soup was. And in the end, she helped herself first and took more than any of us!"

"Wait just a minute here!", High Cheekbones snapped back. "I represent the community, and I organized the stone soup project for everyone. It was my organizing ability and leadership that got everybody the soup and saw to it that it was, you know,spread around instead of being limited to just a few special people."

"Then how come you got yours before anyone else and took more than anyone else?" Mark asked with a puzzled look. "The way you organized things, the soup took longer to make, it cost us more and except for you, we ended up with less soup at the end of it. It still seems somehow like this was all about you getting a free meal".

High Cheekbones unsuccessfully tried to stifle a belch (she really had eaten a large amount of soup)and gave Mark a look of utter disdain for a long time.

Finally, she shook her head and said, "Don't you know anything about how government works?"

The Tale Of The Swine

Once there was a tribe of wild pigs who lived in a remote area of the woods.

As anyone who's spent time around pigs will tell you, they are by no means the most unintelligent of animals, and these pigs had learned to adapt quite well to their circumstances. They had fashioned dens and had gradually learned to piece together a tribal law that allowed them to work as a group when necessary to ensure an adequate if not over generous food supply, care for their young and defend themselves against any natural predators. In their little corner of the woods, they were pretty much the dominant species, and were reasonably content.

One day, a pig named Andy went missing. The others searched for him throughout their part of the forest, but they were unable to find him no matter where they looked. Andy's fate became a major topic of conversation among the pigs. It was totally unheard of for one of them to simply disappear like that.

The pigs didn't quite keep track of time beyond the seasons, but still by their reckoning it was some time before, to their astonishment, Andy reappeared as the leaves were turning color.

The pigs were ecstatic to see their lost tribe member returned to them..and even better, in what appeared to be rip roaring good health.

Most of the wild pigs tended to lose some weight as the weather started to turn colder and food became scarce and harder to find, but Andy was sleek, fat and obviously had been living, if you'll pardon the expression, high on the hog. His bristles and hooves were clean, his eyes shone brightly and he was as happy as a pig in - well, you know. And much to the other pig's surprise, he had a pretty red collar around his neck, something none of them had ever seen before.

"Wherever have you been Andy?" the other pigs asked. "We looked everywhere for you."

"Oh, I can't wait to tell you", said Andy. "I've discovered something wonderful."

"You know, I was chasing down some berries I smelt over by the oak trees over by our eastern border, you know the place. Well I ended up going a little past our bounds and what bad luck! I wasn't paying attention and got my left rear trotter lodged in a tree root."

"I tried and tried, but I couldn't get free and I thought I might die there. But then the most marvelous thing happened. A man heard my squealing, came through the underbrush and set me free."

Now, the pigs had heard of men before, but only in their pig legends that dated long before they had moved to their present remote home. Some pigs wondered if they even existed. And now, here was Andy telling them he'd actually seen one!

"I was still injured, so the man took me back with him to an amazing place called a Farm. I couldn't believe what I saw there. There are fields loaded with food and grain, and all kinds of different animals living there in peace and plenty. I lived in a large, warm den called a barn, with straw for my bed and the very best of food.No sleeping out of doors for this pig! And do you know what I had this morning? Apples! And corn mash! You can't believe how good it tastes compared to the berries, roots and acorns we live on here - and free, every day, without me having to go out and find it."

"The man - I call him my Dear Farmer - gave me this red collar and made me his pet. He knew I came from a tribe of wild pigs in the area somewhere, and I overheard him say to one of the other men that he was going to let me go near where he found me to see if I would be able to lead him to the other pigs. He wants us all to come live there on the Farm, can you believe it?"

Needless to say, the other pigs were astounded. And as they began discussing this on their own, various differences emerged between them on what they should do.

"What makes you think he wants us all to come live on this farm thing?" one asked Andy.

"Why else would he send me to come and look for you?” replied Andy. " Why, the Dear Farmer loves pigs! He said so. He probably wants our manure to help grow his crops. This is a time for us to move on and progress now that we have a golden opportunity to have a better life for ourselves."

The pigs debated this at length. A number of them, particularly the sows with young piglets were all for going to the Farm. Winter was coming on, food was getting harder to find and the prospect of a warm barn to sleep in and ample food was very enticing. And all of it in exchange for a little manure!

One faction, headed by an old, rugged boar named Ronaldus was adamant in arguing against the move. No matter how glowingly Andy painted a picture of progress and plenty, Ronaldus insisted there was no guarantee of the Farmer's true intentions, and that more important, they had no guarantee that the food and lodging would continue. "If the Farmer can give you these things and you come to depend on them, the day may come that he takes them away. Better we stay in the forest and depend on ourselves."

"You're old fashioned and afraid of the future, Ronaldus" responded Andy. "This is all about change...there are plenty of animals already living on the Farm and it works out well for them. It's an animal's paradise. Why should it be any different for us? I tell you, I've been to the Farm, I've seen the future and it works."

With that, the majority of the pigs voted to follow Andy to where the Dear Farmer was waiting and begin a new life on the Farm. Besides, as Andy explained, if they didn't like it, they could always leave and return to their old life in the woods.

Once they reached the Farm, the pigs saw that it was very much as Andy had described it. The Dear Farmer seemed pleasant and genial, the Farm had many animals living in it and looked peaceful and prosperous. And there, just as Andy had said, was the nice warm barn!

The pigs spent a couple of nights in the warm barn, and even if the food wasn't quite the way Andy had described it, it was still delicious and plentiful.

But on the third day, the Dear Farmer and one of his men herded the pigs into a fenced enclosure, all except Andy, who continued to be allowed to stay in the barn and to roam free during the day. The pigs heard the Dear Farmer refer to their new quarters as 'the sty' and while it wasn't as nice as the barn it was still sheltered and warmer than some of their old dens, and the food was still much more plentiful than back in the forest.

Some of the pigs had a few misgivings. Some of them noted that now that they were in a fenced enclosure, there was no chance to return to their old life in the forest even if they wanted to. And they noticed that only Andy, with his red collar, still had the freedom to roam and still slept in the nice warm barn.

"You're being unreasonable", some of the other pigs replied. "You're simply not progressive. The Dear Farmer is providing for all our needs here. This sty is far better than our old dens in the forest, and the food is better and comes without our having to hunt or do anything for it. And besides, why shouldn't Andy run free? Isn't he our leader now? And since he's the Dear Farmer's friend, so much the better for us."

Life for the pigs assumed a day-to-day routine. The Dear Farmer or one of his men came every day and continued to make sure that the pigs were fed and watered regularly and their needs were taken care of. Some of the pigs noticed that Andy had ceased coming around, although they spotted him roaming around the farm occasionally. When some of the pigs questioned this, the others responded, "How can you criticize Andy like that? Look at all he's done for us! He's probably working hard with The Dear Farmer to make sure we get what we deserve and are taken care of properly."

Many of the pigs, you see, especially the younger ones had largely forgotten the old days in the forest and felt they were entitled to food, shelter and good treatment just because they were pigs.

One day, an unusual thing happened to break the routine. The Dear Farmer and two of his men came into the sty, picked out a couple of large hogs and a couple of piglets and drove them out of the sty towards another building over by the other side of the Barn, one the pigs heard the Dear Farmer refer to as the 'smokehouse.'

The pigs were quite surprised at this, and spent much time debating over what had happened and what it meant. Some of them thought that perhaps the Dear Farmer felt their sty was getting too crowded, and that the 'smokehouse' was simply another sty. "It's just another example of how the Dear Farmer looks after us."

Others theorized that the hogs and piglets had been promoted and were going to join Andy in assisting the Dear Farmer in looking after the other pigs, and that they would soon be seen wearing pretty red collars too. Still others thought that they had disobeyed the Rules of the Farm in some fashion, were being punished and would be returned to the Sty shortly.

The next day, some of the pigs noticed Andy walking by and called out to him, saying they needed to talk to him. To their surprise, Andy approached the sty at a brisk trot. "Hello my fellow pigs", Andy said. "How goes it with you?"

"Andy, we need you to find out something for us", one of the hogs said. "Yesterday, the Dear Farmer took two of the hogs and couple of piglets out of our sty. We've been wondering what happened to them."

"Oh, I know all about that" Andy said. "This is probably an excellent time for us to talk about what being part of the Farm really means."

"You see, being part of the Farm is not about the individual, it's bigger than that. Here, we're all part of the Farm. And to keep the Farm going, everybody in the Farm is going to have to sacrifice something, accept change for the greater good. Everybody is going to have to give. Everybody is going to have to have some skin in the game."

"That means that we pigs also have to sacrifice. We have to be about the good of the Farm, and all the animals on it, not just say 'hey, we're doing fine' and not worry about the rest of the Farm".

"What do you mean, Andy?" asked one of the pigs.

"I mean that the pigs you mentioned are helping the entire Farm, including all of us pigs, by performing a special role in keeping the Farm going. That's why they're in the Smokehouse. As the Dear Farmer taught me, from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."

The pigs mulled this over for a bit. Finally, a sow named Dinah asked, "Andy...I understand that maybe it might be necessary for some of us pigs to go over to the Smokehouse to help the whole Farm. But if that's our role, where do you fit in? Are you going to be going to the Smokehouse too?"

Andy chuckled, "Not quite Dinah. The Dear Farmer gave me other duties to perform for the Farm. I've already been able to tell another tribe of pigs in the forest near the south part of the Farm about the animal's paradise here and some of them are in the Barn as we speak. They'll probably be in a sty over in a different part of the Farm tomorrow, enjoying all of the benefits we have and doing their part to keep the Farm going just like we are."

"Not only that, but I also help them get the things they need and deserve from the Dear Farmer, just as I'm helping you. You need me to intercede with the Dear Farmer because I understand his ways. I'm the.. community organizer for all the pigs on this farm!"

"Wait a minute Andy", asked another of pigs, an older hog named David. "I don't like this one bit. Look at what we've come to. We were told that if we came here, we'd live in the nice warm barn, get free food and nothing was going to be demanded of us except a little manure. Now it seems like things have changed. We're not in the Barn, the food's not quite what we were told and it looks like a lot more is being asked of us than just manure. I want out of this deal. I want to go back to the forest."

"I see", said Andy. "Because things aren't exactly the way you want you're willing to jeopardize the entire community for your own selfish needs. Let's say all of us abandoned the Dear Farmer the way you want to. What do you suppose would happen to the Farm? What about the piglets? You want to deprive them of food and shelter too? Remember what I said about us all needing to have some skin in the game? "

"Yeah", yelled Dinah and some of the other pigs as they glared at David "Isn't it time we thought of the piglets?"

"I could care less,” replied David. "I want out!"

Andy looked at him a second, and then said very quietly, "Fine David. If you want to put yourself ahead of the piglets and their needs, ahead of the whole Farm, that's something I guess you'll have to live with."

'How do I get out of the sty?" asked David.

Andy looked at him for a long moment. "David, its one thing for me to listen to you outrageously putting yourself ahead of every animal on the Farm. It's something else for you to expect me to help you do it. I'm fighting for the average pig, the little porker, not the greedy one per cent who don't want to give so we all can enjoy peace and plenty."

He then trotted away, listening to the other pigs applaud him and shout out his name. And as he went, Andy made a note to himself to talk to the Dear Farmer about moving David to the Smokehouse the very next day.