Tag: fable

Posted in Environment/Deep Ecology/Climate Change

Venemous Revenge

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

zoo

Authority Means Responsibility

Strange happenings were noticed in the main zoo of the city. The caged animals appeared to be disturbed  and so were the birds inside their specially built sanctuary. Visitors began to leave early that day, apprehensive of some untoward incident.

The birds had thought of the brilliant idea of communicating for they too had felt the brunt, the pain and pangs of hunger. The parching thirst and severe cold. They formed a group and appointed a leader, none other than the  rare, African, Grey Parrot, the talented mimic, focused, keen listener and verbally so vociferous. Just the right one  for  the job. He was sent to convey the important message to the King Lion, the Tiger, the Fox and the Cobra.

This was the Core Committee for Defense.

The protection of all the animals was at stake.

It all began when the African Grey Parrot shouted out loud, as he flew all around the Zoo.  Over the area, near the cages and the stony rockeries, screaming,  “No need to feed, no need to feed,  the money is all ours, we shall do with it whatever we please, my authority my wish, our authority our wish.”

The animals had a secret plan. Today was the great inspection day. Officials from the Ministry of Environment had already arrived.

“The zoo is too clean, today”, thought the Minister.

Soon the checking began. As they neared the Lion’s cage the always passive animal lunged forward and  grabbed the coat of an accompanying Officer. He pulled at it and tore it away and then let out a loud roar. Next the tiger too showed the same reaction. The fox kept trotting inside the cage, as if in severe pain, letting out whining sounds.

The worst  happened near the snake sanctuary.

As the official’s group moved near, a dark black snake slithered outside, hissing loudly he thrust his head at the Zoo officer and stuck his fangs in his right ankle. The guards leapt to save the officer.

Inquiry revealed that the birds had pecked out an opening for the snake in the thin wired wall.  All the animals had not been served food and water for the past two days.

Authority means responsibility, negligence of duty results in dangerous consequences.

© 2020, story and art, Anjum Wasim Dar

Posted in Corina L. Ravenscraft, poem, story

A few bits of Soul Sustenance – A story, a quote and a poem

Posted on by dragonkatet

One of the things I like about parables or fables is that they have seeds of truth and wisdom condensed into “bite-sized” amounts of reading. I enjoy looking for new ones which I haven’t read and sometimes come across old favorites. For those of you seeking “Truth” (and all that the word with a capital “T” entails) I offer the following story:

The seeker of truth

“After years of searching, the seeker was told to go to a cave, in which he would find a well. ‘Ask the well what is truth’, he was advised, ‘and the well will reveal it to you’. Having found the well, the seeker asked that most fundamental question. And from the depths came the answer, ‘Go to the village crossroad: there you shall find what you are seeking’.

Full of hope and anticipation the man ran to the crossroad to find only three rather uninteresting shops. One shop was selling pieces of metal, another sold wood, and thin wires were for sale in the third. Nothing and no one there seemed to have much to do with the revelation of truth.

Disappointed, the seeker returned to the well to demand an explanation, but he was told only, ‘You will understand in the future.’ When the man protested, all he got in return were the echoes of his own shouts. Indignant for having been made a fool of – or so he thought at the time – the seeker continued his wanderings in search of truth. As years went by, the memory of his experience at the well gradually faded until one night, while he was walking in the moonlight, the sound of sitar music caught his attention. It was wonderful music and it was played with great mastery and inspiration.

Profoundly moved, the truth seeker felt drawn towards the player. He looked at the fingers dancing over the strings. He became aware of the sitar itself. And then suddenly he exploded in a cry of joyous recognition: the sitar was made out of wires and pieces of metal and wood just like those he had once seen in the three stores and had thought it to be without any particular significance.

At last he understood the message of the well: we have already been given everything we need: our task is to assemble and use it in the appropriate way. Nothing is meaningful so long as we perceive only separate fragments. But as soon as the fragments come together into a synthesis, a new entity emerges, whose nature we could not have foreseen by considering the fragments alone.” ~ Author Unknown Source

For those of you unfamiliar with the wonderful sounds of a Sitar (the instrument mentioned in the story above), I offer the following beautiful example from one of the greatest players of our time, Ravi Shankar:

In addition to truth, one also needs moments of stillness and meditation to keep balance in life. The photo below is mine, but the quote is Lao Tzu’s:

Be stillAnd lastly, a poem written a while ago about something I rarely get to witness, since I’m a night-owl by nature:

~ Sunrise Sighs ~

Today, for the first time in a small while, I was awake to witness a fresh sunrise.

The purpled-pink fingers crept up like a smile,

gently waking the crisp air of still-sleepy skies.

Vaporous flames of bright orange hues, licking the velvet of dew-kissed dawn,

Sleep promised me a solid, deep, dreamless snooze,

But rapt in my awe, I stayed awake and gazed on.

I love the quiet, hushed hours of Night; they keep me content in a solitary peace,

But the rare, glimpsed glory of Morning’s soft light

Makes me ache with a sweetness that begs for release.

~ C.L.R. ~ ©

effecd1bf289d498b5944e37d8f4ee6fAbout dragonkatet Regarding the blog name, Dragon’s Dreams ~ The name comes from my love-affairs with both Dragons and Dreams (capital Ds). It’s another extension of who I am, a facet for expression; a place and way to reach other like-minded, creative individuals. I post a lot of poetry and images that fascinate or move me, because that’s my favorite way to view the world. I post about things important to me and the world in which we live, try to champion extra important political, societal and environmental issues, etc. Sometimes I wax philosophical, because it’s also a place where I always seem to learn about myself, too, by interacting with some of the brightest minds, souls and hearts out there. It’s all about ‘connection(s)’ and I don’t mean “net-working” with people for personal gain, but rather, the expansion of the 4 L’s: Light, Love, Laughter, Learning.