A young boy was playing in the desert with a bow and arrow he had
made, when a vulture, always looking for a tender meal, saw him from
afar. The bird flew over and, seeing that the arrow was only a
barren stick, swooped down and pecked at the boy. "Why don't you
shoot me if you don't like my pecking?" it taunted. The boy shot
his arrow repeatedly, but the bird was too quick, and the arrow
always missed.
Finally, exhausted from chasing the arrow and deflecting the bird,
the boy sat down in the sparse shade of a dead tree. The vulture,
lighting on one of the dry branches above the boy, sat triumphantly
preening and smirking, and even plucked a few old feathers to drop
on the boy's head in contempt. "There's for your pains, feeble
one," the bird said haughtily.
The boy, however, would not be defeated. Carefully he collected the
feathers, fixed them to his stick, and with the resultantly accurate
arrow, shot the surprised vulture through the heart.
* In our pride we often unwittingly give our enemies the means to
destroy us.
* Perseverance and ingenuity, even in the face of humiliation and
defeat, will at last succeed.
[Suggested by Aesop, "The Eagle and Arrow"]