A FLY alighted one night upon a pot of honey, and finding it very much
to his taste, began to eat it along the edges.
Little by little, however, he had soon crept away from the edge and
into the jar, until at last he found himself stuck fast. His legs and
wings had become so smeared with the honey that he could not use them.
Just then a Moth flew by, and seeing him struggling there, said: “Oh,
you foolish Fly! Were you so greedy as to be caught like that? Your
appetite was too much for you.”
The poor Fly had nothing to say in reply. What the Moth said was true.
But by and by, when evening came, he saw the Moth flying round a
lighted candle in the giddiest way, and each time a little closer to
the flame, until at last he flew straight into it and was burned.
“What!” said the Fly, “are you foolish, too? You found fault with me
for being too fond of honey; yet all your wisdom did not keep you from
playing with fire.” It is sometimes easier to see the foolishness of
others than to detect our own.