Two Rats and the Wise Monkey
Once upon a time, in a bustling barn filled with animals, there lived two rats named Remy and Rina. They were best friends and shared everything they have found in the barn. One day, while exploring the barn, they discovered a large piece of bread, enough to fill their tiny bellies for days.
They excited about their findings and that they started out to argue approximately a way to divide the bread. Remy wanted the bigger piece, claiming he had found it first, at the same time as Rina argued that she was hungrier and wished extra food. Their argument grew louder and louder until all the barn animals could hear them.
A wise old monkey, who had been looking the commotion from a distance and decided to intrude. The monkey then approached those quarreling rats and want to help them. “Why don’t I assist you divide the bread fairly?” he advised.
The rats, desperate to remedy their dispute and agreed. The monkey broke the bread into two unequal pieces and exceeded the bigger piece to Remy and the smaller piece to Rina. But earlier than they might protest, the monkey stopped them. “Wait,” he said, “permit me balance it.”
The monkey took a bite from the larger piece, making it smaller, then took a bite from the smaller piece, trying to make them equal. However, each time he tried to balance the pieces, he ended up taking more and more bites. The rats watched in horror as their precious bread disappeared bite by bite.
Finally, only two tiny crumbs were left. The monkey handed one crumb to Remy and one to Rina. “There you go,” he said, “now it’s fair.”
The rats looked at their crumbs, then at each other, and found out how silly their argument was. They had allowed their greed and stubbornness to get within the way of sharing the bread equally.
Feeling ashamed, Remy and Rina apologized to each other. “We should have found a way to share the bread fairly ourselves,” Remy admitted. “Yes,” Rina agreed, “next time, we will work together to divide what we find.”
The wise monkey smiled and nodded. “Remember,” he said, “when you argue over something, you might lose more than you gain. It’s always better to find a fair solution together.” From that day on, Remy and Rina discovered to proportion the whole thing similarly, and they never let their greed get the better of them again. The other animals in the barn also found out from their mistake and made positive to assist each other, fostering a network of cooperation and fairness.
Moral : Greed and arguments can lead to unnecessary loss.