Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Crow and the Pitcher

For weeks and weeks there had been no rain. The streams and pools had dried to dust, and all of the animals were thirsty. Two crows flying together in search of water, spotted a pitcher that had been left on a garden wall. They flew to it and saw that it was half full of water. But neither one could reach far enough inside the pitcher's narrow neck to get a drink.
          "There must be a ways to get that water," said the first crow. "If we think it through, we'll find an answer."
          The second crow tried to push the pitcher over, straining with all of his might. But it was too heavy to budge. "It's hopeless!" he croaked, and flew away to look for water elsewhere.
          But the first crow stayed by the pitcher and thought, and after a time he had an idea. Picking up some pebbles in his beak, he dropped them one by one into the pitcher until at last the water rose to the brim. Then the clever bird happily quenched his thirst.

Wisdom and patience succeeds where force fails.


          This story reminds me of myself. I have seen people like to just use brute force to solve their problems or only use one way to solve every problem they have. When that doesn't work, they give up. These people are just like the second crow. I, on the other hand, am like the first crow. I like to think things through until I get it. My math teacher might even think that I am annoying because whenever I don't get a topic in class, I ask question after question to try and understand, and it takes up a lot of time in class. I think that a lot of people can relate to this. It can sometimes be frustrating when your friend doesn't want to be patient and only wants to use force. I always say to them that there are many ways to solve a problem but they don't seem to listen.

          This moral can also be with more serious matters like in worldwide disputes. Many countries like to solve their differences with atomic bombs, guns, and soldiers. Both countries will lose many men and eventually one country will win. But does anybody really win during war? Many lives are lost all because two political leaders had a disagreement. They could have resolved it with words and kindness, not death and destruction.

          I feel that patience and wisdom come together in a "package". You cannot have one without the other. Without one you will not be able to be like the first crow. The smart, clever, patient, ingenious, and resourceful crow is the one who got the water and this is the one that you should always aspire to be.