Once upon a time there was a man with five children. On this one particular afternoon, his wife was absent, having gone to visit her friends for a reunion, and would not return until the next day.
This left the dinner preparations entirely in his hands. Now this man valued harmony and rather than make the decision for his family, he decided he would speak to the children to get their input on what would be best for dinner.
He approached his first child, "Ralph, what do you think we should have for dinner tonight?" Now Ralph had some rather interesting views about food and nutrition, "Well, father, meat is evil and I won't touch food that has come from a factory farm - the only answer is to eat food from our garden."
Our father, considered this and found his next child, "Ann, your mother is gone until tomorrow. What do you think we should have for supper?" Now Ann was a bit on the greedy side and often would push for as much as she could get. "Father, we should have a wonderful banquet with roasts and chicken and sausages...oh and I think we should have five kinds of dessert. Father, you simply must cook a magnificent feast for us - we deserve it!"
He then found the twins arguing in the back yard (as they were wont to do). George, in the red outfit, and Bill, in the blue outfit, never seemed to agree on anything. Father approached them and they stopped their scuffling long enough to hear him ask about dinner. Bill shouted, "Pizza we have to have pizza, Poppa, with pepperoni and mushrooms." "No way!" answered George, "Poppa, we must have pizza, but with sausage and mushrooms." Well, the fighting started up again about pizza toppings.
Our father knew where he'd find his last child. It seemed that all Jane wanted to do was sit in front of the television day in and day out. When he approached her with his question about dinner, she didn't even look away from the screen, "I don't care. Whatever." So he told Jane about Ralph's suggestion. "No, I hate vegetables." So then he told her about greedy Ann's banquet idea. "No, I'm on a diet, I couldn't eat most of that."
Of course, she still stared at her television program the whole time. "Well, the twins suggested pizza." "We just had pizza! Yuck!" And so he once again asked her, "Well, what do you suggest?" "I don't care. Whatever."
By now our father was becoming frustrated. How was he going to serve up a dinner that made everyone happy? He pondered and thought and googled and flipped through cookbooks. The afternoon frittered away while he tried to please them all.
Before he realized it, the five children were standing in the kitchen doorway moaning about how hungry they were. He looked at the clock and it was hours past supper time. He told them he would bring some dinner in in a few minutes and told them to go sit at the table.
Well, in the end, all he could throw together was a weak flavorless gruel that he slopped up into some bowls. Perhaps that is what comes from spending all your energy on trying to please everyone.
This left the dinner preparations entirely in his hands. Now this man valued harmony and rather than make the decision for his family, he decided he would speak to the children to get their input on what would be best for dinner.
He approached his first child, "Ralph, what do you think we should have for dinner tonight?" Now Ralph had some rather interesting views about food and nutrition, "Well, father, meat is evil and I won't touch food that has come from a factory farm - the only answer is to eat food from our garden."
Our father, considered this and found his next child, "Ann, your mother is gone until tomorrow. What do you think we should have for supper?" Now Ann was a bit on the greedy side and often would push for as much as she could get. "Father, we should have a wonderful banquet with roasts and chicken and sausages...oh and I think we should have five kinds of dessert. Father, you simply must cook a magnificent feast for us - we deserve it!"
He then found the twins arguing in the back yard (as they were wont to do). George, in the red outfit, and Bill, in the blue outfit, never seemed to agree on anything. Father approached them and they stopped their scuffling long enough to hear him ask about dinner. Bill shouted, "Pizza we have to have pizza, Poppa, with pepperoni and mushrooms." "No way!" answered George, "Poppa, we must have pizza, but with sausage and mushrooms." Well, the fighting started up again about pizza toppings.
Our father knew where he'd find his last child. It seemed that all Jane wanted to do was sit in front of the television day in and day out. When he approached her with his question about dinner, she didn't even look away from the screen, "I don't care. Whatever." So he told Jane about Ralph's suggestion. "No, I hate vegetables." So then he told her about greedy Ann's banquet idea. "No, I'm on a diet, I couldn't eat most of that."
Of course, she still stared at her television program the whole time. "Well, the twins suggested pizza." "We just had pizza! Yuck!" And so he once again asked her, "Well, what do you suggest?" "I don't care. Whatever."
By now our father was becoming frustrated. How was he going to serve up a dinner that made everyone happy? He pondered and thought and googled and flipped through cookbooks. The afternoon frittered away while he tried to please them all.
Before he realized it, the five children were standing in the kitchen doorway moaning about how hungry they were. He looked at the clock and it was hours past supper time. He told them he would bring some dinner in in a few minutes and told them to go sit at the table.
Well, in the end, all he could throw together was a weak flavorless gruel that he slopped up into some bowls. Perhaps that is what comes from spending all your energy on trying to please everyone.
2 comments:
Your fable reminds me of another involving an old man, his young grandson, and the man's ass (burro). In the end after trying to please everyone, he lost his ass.
Yes, subtly different, first the kid is on the burro, then they trade places, then they're both, how does he lose it in the end?
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