The Ass Carrying the Image – Aesop’s Fables
As the annual festivity approached, a revered Idol was chosen to be taken in procession to the temple. The Donkey, chosen for this auspicious task, was lavishly decorated, wearing a mantle of flowers and ornate attire. With priests chanting and a crowd ensuring the procession’s sanctity, the streets were filled with the town’s denizens paying homage. They knelt and bowed, lost in reverence. The Donkey, however, mistook their adoration for his own.
Bloated with misplaced pride, he stopped and began to hee-haw, wanting to bask in the adulation. His cacophonous bray was interrupted by the sharp sting of the driver’s whip, who chided, “Advance, foolish creature! They’re venerating the Idol, not your conceit.”
What principles and lessons can be learned from the above stories?
In life’s parade, it’s crucial to discern genuine admiration from mere reflections. For in the blindness of ego, one might find themselves humbled.
