Another (Modern) Parable

"The Woman and the Cat"

Once upon a time there lived a woman who owned a cat. Being a cat, he was naturally a very proud beast. Being that he was an indoor cat, he had long ago forsaken his hunter's claws in exchange for two free feedings everyday.

Being such a proud beast, he considered all things below him. When the woman called, he ignored her. He lazed about and shed his fur where he pleased. He slept or groomed himself for most of the day.

One thing the cat loved to do was sit in windows. When the woman opened them to let in fresh air, he would inevitably jump into the windowsill. He could reliably be found sitting in whichever window currently received the most sunshine. Everything he saw both within and without the house he claimed as his own. Such was his pride.

One day the woman was expecting company. She went about the house wiping down the windows to make her home as presentable as possible. The cat, seeing her fuss about the windows, arrogantly assumed she was opening the windows for his enjoyment. Once she had finished about a particular window, he climbed to the back of the futon and leapt for all he was worth.

The window, still being closed, proved a remarkable deterrent for his body. He made to hang onto the ledge, but having surrendered his claws long ago had nothing with which to scrabble for purchase. In the end, he fell to the floor.

His antics, observed by the woman, drew much laughing scorn down upon his head. When the woman had finished laughing, she saw that his crash into the window had dirtied it again, thus necessitating a second cleaning. She upbraided the stupidity of the cat loud and long, forcing him to slink under the bed and nurse his doubly wounded pride.

Moral:
Look before you leap.

OR

Pride comes before a fall!

And Now, A (Modern) Proverb

"The Woman and the Cicada"

Once upon a time there lived a woman who owned a young dog. Every night she let this dog out for his business as she had trained him well where to take his worldly toilet. Her dog was black, and the nights were so very dark, so every night she turned on her porch light to better see him. When she called, his eyes would glow in reflection of the porch's light and reassure her.

One night she opened the door to retrieve her dog when a cicada flew into her home. It was a lazy, erratic thing that bumped into walls and lights, slow but incessant. When it flew close to the door, she opened it for him.

"Go back home!" she commanded sternly. The foolish cicada did not heed the words of the master of the house.

The woman resolved to find and evict the cicada the next day. She went into the kitchen.

The cicada, in great fun, followed her and buzzed annoyingly around her head. In a fit of disgust and rage, the woman took up her dog's frisbee, lying nearby, and swatted the cicada from the air. He fell onto his back on the floor, dazed and helpless. The woman covered him with the frisbee and again vowed to evict him upon the morrow.

When morning came, the woman lifted the frisbee to find the cicada in the last stages of death.

"Cruel woman!" cried the cicada. "First you command me away, then you strike me and finally leave me in the dark to die!"

"Foolish cicada!" scorned the woman. "I bade thee leave and thou didst not! I let thee be and thou nagged upon my every nerve! Now in your foolish haste, you shall die."

At the woman's harsh words, the cicada's life fled from his tiny body. The woman scooped him up with the frisbee and tossed his useless carcass out the front door.

Moral:
Don't overstay your welcome.

OR

He who lives a fool dies a fool.

OR

Do not scorn the correct path for your own whims. It could be the death of you!

THE END.