The Orchid and the Hummingbird

Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904) Orchid and Hummingbird

Fable of an orchid and a hummingbird.

Once upon a time in a jungle  in Brazil,

an orchid was talking with a hummingbird:

"Of all the flowers - she said vainly -

  that grow here, I am the most beautiful of them all".

But soon enough, the wind blew with all its might

So much so that the poor orchid was taken by its root.

The hummingbird thought :  "in the dense forest, life is

as brief as beauty itself".

Story translated from the book:
Abecedario de Arte by Carlos Reviejo and Ana Moreno Rebordinos
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

Source of Image:  Flores y plantas.net

Moral Principle vs. Material Interest

Title: The Moral Principle And The Material Interest
Author: Ambrose Bierce

A Moral Principle met a Material Interest on a bridge wide enough for but one.

"Down, you base thing!" thundered the Moral Principle, "and let me pass over you!"

The Material Interest merely looked in the other's eyes without saying anything.

"Ah," said the Moral Principle, hesitatingly, "let us draw lots to see which shall retire till the other has crossed."

The Material Interest maintained an unbroken silence and an unwavering stare.

"In order to avoid a conflict," the Moral Principle resumed, somewhat uneasily, "I shall myself lie down and let you walk over me."

Then the Material Interest found a tongue, and by a strange coincidence it was its own tongue. "I don't think you are very good walking," it said. "I am a little particular about what I have underfoot. Suppose you get off into the water."

It occurred that way.

Source of Story: Read Book Online

But the story would have been different had both of them been in the bridge as shown hereunder.

This is China's Jiaozhou Bay Bridge, 26 miles long and inaugurated June 30, 2011 and  is now the World's Longest Bridge. It took four-and-a-half years to build the bridge. The bridge took the "world's longest" title from the 38.35 kilometer Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in the United States.

Source of Information/images: International Business Times - July 6, 2011

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Title:      The Old Man and His Sons
Author:  Ambrose Bierce (USA 1842-1914)

AN Old Man, afflicted with a family of contentious Sons, brought in a bundle of sticks and asked the young men to break it. After repeated efforts they confessed that it could not be done. "Behold," said the Old Man, "the advantage of unity; as long as these sticks are in alliance they are invincible, but observe how feeble they are individually."
Pulling a single stick from the bundle, he broke it easily upon the head of the eldest Son, and this he repeated until all had been served.

-THE END-
Ambrose Bierce's short story/fable: The Old Man and His Sons

Image from: Tu amigo te tiene ganas