Pages

October 17, 2011

Fable Of The Porcupine

I am probably the last blogger to see this. A friend emailed this to me.
It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.

The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves. But the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.

After awhile they decided to distance themselves from each other, and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: Either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the earth.

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the others.
This way they were able to survive.

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people; when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others, they can admire the other person's good qualities.

Moral of the story: Just learn to live with the pricks in your life!

30 comments:

Ms. A said...

Hahaha, I've gotten this email, but it didn't have that adorable picture!

Anonymous said...

I hadn't heard this. Thanks so much. I can always use the reminder.

Maggie May said...

I loved the photo and the wonderful moral of this tale is true.
Sometimes I feel like a pincushion!
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Brian Miller said...

ha. read something similar but this is a good one...nice hedgehog pic too...so cute.

CiCi said...

Ms.A, actually the email I received had three different pics.

barb, glad you liked it.

Maggie, you have been a pin cushion,haven't you?

Brian, I knew you would have already seen this.

LL Cool Joe said...

Ha ha, I couldn't agree more, and I do just that! Nice story!

Cricket said...

Well, of course the Porcupine in me likes this little story ;-)

Gary's third pottery blog said...

I must admit, I wonder how, um, porcupines get intimate with each other.....

Syd said...

I like that. Nothing cuter than a baby porcupine in a strange way. I think it is worth those little nicks and cuts in a relationship just to keep it alive.

DJan said...

Adorable picture, and a great story with a moral. What a cutie! :-) I hadn't seen this one, but I'm glad I have now!

Kulio said...

Aww! Well I hadn't heard that story yet, so thanks for passing it on, too cute and too true!

Rock Chef said...

Brilliant! Clearly you were not the last, although I may well be!

Jeanie said...

I had not seen this and I love the message of the story. We all have a few "sticky" people to deal with from time to time.

Kristina P. said...

What a great story! I love learning about how animals survive.

Traci Marie Wolf said...

I think a good way to pick a prick is to find one that's willing to deal with your prickiness in return.

Joanna Jenkins said...

When I saw the photo in my sidebar I looked and looked thinking you and James had gotten the world's smallest puppy-- Then I clicked thru and figured it out! Great pic and a perfect story to match.
xo jj

Liz Mays said...

Too funny, and yeah, I guess we gotta suffer a little bit to get along.

Rick Watson said...

I spewed tea on Jilda's iPad and she's pissed. I told her it was you fault.
I'm not sure she bought it. More later.

Dave King said...

Thanks. I did know the tale. In a former life I was a lay preacher and more than once used that story for children's addresses. I didn't have the benefit of that picture, though!

CiCi said...

Joe, glad you agree.
Tee hee.

Cricket, I wondered what your porcupine would say.

Gary, touchy subject that.

Syd, I must agree as we have little ouchies from time to time but it is so worth it.

DJan, yes the picture is way cute.

Kulio, I like that the story does point out (get it) we can all figure ways to get along.

Rock Chef, so you had not seen this either?

Jeanie, especially those of you who have outside jobs I think.

Kristina P, even we human animals.

traci, what? It isn't just someone else, we all have prickiness?

Joanna, maybe a puppy that size would be the size for us if we could find it. Ha.

blueviolet, it seems so and worth some effort too.

Life 101, it's okay you can blame it on me. Jilda likes me.

Dave, I doubt you used the same moral of the story though.

secret agent woman said...

Such a cute creature. Although I'm pretty sure that's a baby hedgehog rather than a baby porcupine.

Shrinky said...

Oh my goodness, isn't that little darling soooo adorable? And as for the fable, it's a new one on me, and so very, very wise!

Stickup Artist said...

I had not seen this before, but that little porcupine is just about the cutest thing ever! The moral of the story is excellent, especially since it's drawn from the reality of their situation. It took me a long time to realize that it is not advisable to expect perfection from oneself or from others.

Arnab Majumdar said...

I remember this email... :) Nice story, this one... and true, too.

Cheers,
Arnab Majumdar on SribbleFest.com

Big Dave T said...

I didn't see that moral coming. Isn't that a cute porcupine though? I'd almost adopt him if he didn't grow any bigger.

Mike said...

I say get rid of anything that has sharp points! lol

Charlie said...

That's about the cutest little critter I've ever seen—and I'm a big soft-hearted pile of mush for little critters.

Thanks for the photo and the too-true story.

Cheryl said...

I hadn't read this before...so glad I did here. I must remember this little story...hope all is well!

terri said...

This is the first time I've seen this one. Haha! Cute!

heartinsanfrancisco said...

A nice fable and an adorable picture!