| Value: Respect Story: The Two Birds |
The
Two Birds By H. Otero, from Parabolas
en son de paz
Two birds were
very happy in the same tree, a willow tree. One of them rested on a
branch at
the highest part of the willow; the other one was down below, where one
branch
joined another.
After a while,
the bird perched in the highest part of the tree said, to break the
ice,
"Oh, what beautiful green leaves these are!"
The bird resting on the branch below took this statement as a
provocation. He replied in a curt manner, "Are you blind? Can't you see
they
are white?"
The one in the highest part, upset, answered, "It's you who
is
blind! They are green!"
The other bird,
from below with his beak pointed upward, responded, "I bet my tail
feathers they are white. You don't know anything."
The bird at the top felt his temper flare up and, without
thinking
twice, he jumped down to the same branch as his adversary to teach him
a
lesson.
The other bird did not move. The two birds were so
close, they stood eye to eye. Their feathers were
ruffled with rage. In
their tradition, they both looked above before they started the fight. The bird that had
come down from above said with much surprise, "How strange! Look at the
leaves, they are white!" And he invited his friend, "Come up to where
I was before." They flew to the
highest branch of the willow tree, and this time they said together,
"Look
at the leaves, they are so green!" |
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| Click on the arrow (above left) to play the first half of the story. | Click on the arrow (above left) to play the second half of the story. | |
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Reflection Question To Think
About / Discuss in Class:
Those who show respect will receive respect. |
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Value: Tolerance / Acceptance
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| Ideas to
think about/discuss in class after reading this story: 1.) Tolerance is mutual respect through mutual understanding. 2.) Tolerance has been called an essential factor for world peace. Peace is the goal, tolerance the method. |
There
was once a
land where all the people were either short and fat or tall and thin.
There was
no one in between. The "Shorties" and "Tallies," as they
were called, did not like each other. Each thought himself to be better
than
the other. When the Shorties were talking among themselves about the
arrogance
of the Tallies, they would call them "beanpoles." The Tallies would
talk to each other about how stupid the "shrimps" were. The
"beanpoles" and "shrimps" were always arguing and fighting,
and there was no peace in the land. The
Shorties and the Tallies did
not know each other very well. They
never tried to be friends. Indeed, they both refused to have anything
to do
with the other. They refused to live next door to one another, used
different
shops, and their children even went to different schools. Separate
businesses
and even churches and temples were built to meet the needs of the
Shorties and
Tallies. Demand grew for the land to be divided in two, and there was
talk of
war as the "beanpoles" blamed the "shrimps" for problems in
the land, Each side rushed to buy guns, The ruler of the land did not
help.
Most of the time he was interested in accumulating more wealth for
himself.
Sometimes he even blamed the Tallies for the problems of the land. As
intolerance increased, even the children were told by adults that the
other
group was not good. The children of the Shorties were told to not make
friends
with the "beanpoles," and the children of the Tallies were told not
to make friends with the "shrimps." Then
one day a
strange thing happened. All the people of the land went blind. Not even
one
person could see anything. Everyone's world was turned upside down in
more ways
than one. The people stumbled around, trying to find their way from the
shops
and the churches and temples. They were bumping into one another and
tripping
over each other. Little children, teenagers and adults all needed help,
and
they helped each other. Adults conversed with anyone they bumped into
to ask
for help in finding their way. Little children were taken care of by
older
children, and mothers of both Shorties and Tallies helped each other
find their
children. At
first, the
Shorties did not know they were sometimes being helped by
"beanpoles," and Tallies did not realize they were being helped by
"shrimps." They welcomed the understanding voices and the generous
help. But as they helped each other with their hands, they began to
realize
that some of those kind hands were thin and long, and other kind hands
were
short and plump. "Hmmph,"
one Shortie named
Miriam said to
herself, "I bet that's the only
nice beanpole out
there." But as Miriam tried to find her way to the store to buy food,
she
was again helped by another Tallie! Ali,
one of the
Tallies, was also surprised. "Those shrimps aren't all so mean," he
thought to himself one day when a Shortie helped him find his little
brother. As
one long week
and another week passed, each person began to realize that the shape
and size
of each other's bodies no longer mattered. They began to judge each
person they
met by his or her behavior instead of appearance— whether
they were kind
and gentle or mean-spirited. They began to appreciate their new friends
and
understand that a person's character is much more important than the
way he or
she looks—and that good qualities can be found in everyone. With this realization, the hearts of the short, fat people and the tall, thin people began to melt. They were kinder to everyone they met. As they began to grow fond of their new friends, their sight returned just as suddenly as it had disappeared! They laughed with each other in their joy of seeing, and they promised never to be deceived by their eyes again. |
