casabrova

The Wandering Philosopher: Chapter One

A traveler sat down to rest underneath a tree alongside a dirt path. He leaned against the trunk as he let the shade cool him down. As he was relaxing, a small boy came running along that dirt path. He noticed the man sitting underneath the tree and stopped to see if he was okay. "Hiya" said the little boy. "Are you okay?" The little boy balanced on his feet as he stared down at the man underneath the tree.

"Why, hello there" the man said. "What are you doing all the way out here alone? It's quite dangerous for you to be out here on your own."

"I'm a brave adventurer," the boy yelled, "and I'm on an adventure to see what this road leads to!"

With a smile, the man motioned for the boy to join him underneath the tree. "Sit" he said. "It would seem even brave adventurers such as yourself get tired and need to rest. I will share a story with you while we rest." The boy joined him in the shade.

"What kind of story is it?" asked the boy.

The man smiled. "A good one."

With a shrug, the boy conceded. "Then I would like to hear it."

"Alright." said the man.

~~~

There once was a frog who loved to hop up and down the riverbank. He would jump across the river, sometimes swimming back across sometimes hopping. One day, as the frog was hopping along, he was approached by a scorpion. 'Hello there, frog' said the scorpion. 'I would like to ask you a favor.'

Surprised by this, the frog asked 'what favor could I, a frog, do for you, a scorpion?'

The scorpion stared at the frog. 'I need to get across this river. Will you take me?' The scorpion snapped its claw.

'Hah!' laughed the frog. 'How can I trust that you will not sting me?'

'All I need is to get across the river. I promise I will not sting you.'

The scorpion crawled onto the frog. The frog began to make his way across the river. Midway across, the scorpion stung the frog. 'Why would you do that?' asked the frog. 'Now we will both die.'

'I am sorry' said the scorpion. 'I can't help it. I am a scorpion.'

~~~

"What kind of story is that?" asked the boy. "They both die!"

The man looked at the boy and smiled. "There is something to be learned from this story." His head tilted back and rested on the trunk while he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The boy looked confused. "What lesson?"

With a snicker, the man looked at the boy and said, "Some people cannot change." The man smiled, "Where do you think this road leads to?"

The boy's eyes lit up. "A cave filled with treasure!" He jumped up. "And I'm going to be the first one to find it!" The boy took off down the road. "See you 'round, mister!"

As the boy ran off, the man stood up and watched him disappear around the bend in the road. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small coin. He held out his hand and let the sun hit the coin. The light glistened off the golden token and the man smiled. He tossed the coin in the air, snatched it, shoved it back into his pocket, and took off down the road.nullnull