'A Parable'

(Article by Bev Holoboff, copyright 1994 and the lovely animated unicorn gif copyright 1999 by Denton's Dimension)

Once upon a time in the Land of Toppnaught, there lived the Princess Naivity, who spent her days pursuing her greatest passion - the training and breeding of unicorns. Her unicorns were beautiful, spirited animals, full of enthusiasm and potential, and totally unique in a land of bland ubiquitous quarterhorses.

Unfortunately for the Princess, her unicorns were not understood by the Committee for the Betterment of Equines in the land of Toppnaught (the CBET), the members of which had spent their years in the company of the more tractable quarterhorses and considered themselves experts in all things equine. Not understanding unicorns, they made all of their judgements in quarterhorse terms.

However, the CBET could not deny the interest that the unicorns generated in others. So, when they called on the breeders of the land to exhibit their finest specimens at the yearly parade for the King, they could not ignore Princess Naivity and her unicorns. Reluctantly, she was included in the parade.

The Princess took her finest three unicorns - Razzle, Dazzle, and Sprite - and the crowd exclaimed in awe when they caught their first glimpse of the unicorns prancing to the start. Razzle was first. With a flash of his eyes and a toss of his mane, he danced before the crowd. He danced, he pranced, he held the crowd captive when…. Gasp…

Razzle was down. Unseen in his path, a pothole had lain waiting and, in a moment, poor Razzle was a sorry sight on the ground. "Ah, Ha!" said the CBET, "We knew it! The Princess has been breeding unicorns with muscular disorders."

Dazzle had not seen the commotion, so intent was he on pleasing the crowd. Eyes up, he crashed into Razzle and he, too, went down. "Ah, Ha!" said the CBET, "We knew it! The Princess has been breeding unicorns that are blind."

In a panic, the Princess called to Sprite. But, over the roar of the crowd, her voice didn't carry. Not hearing the warning, Sprite, too, joined the puddle of unicorns. In the distance, though, she could hear "Ah, Ha!" from the CBET. "The Princes is breeding unicorns that are deaf." Now the crowd jeered in agreement with the CBET, knowing that they, the experts, were right. Obviously, the Princess' unicorns were sadly flawed.

In the days that followed, there was an investigation into the presence of potholes on the parade route but the CBET said that was not the problem. The Problem was the Princess' breeding program that was producing such flawed animals. In humiliation and sorrow, the Princess gathered up her unicorns and left her dearly beloved castle. Knowing she could never live happily in the land of Toppnaught, she moved, with her unicorns, to the land of Whynaught.

The wise king of Whynaught would not listen to the stories that were spread about the unicorns, preferring to watch and evaluate them himself. In time, the Princess grew in confidence and, in the supportive climate of Whynaught, her unicorns flourished. As they flourished, people came to Whynaught just to see them and other breeders of unicorns also came to this happy place. The whole land and its people reaped great benefits due to the presence of the unicorns.

The story spread to many other lands and became a lesson to all. Only in the land of Toppnaught did the people never realize that the problem was the potholes and not the unicorns.

To those of you who choose to learn from parables:

- Treat your unicorns well or they may leave.

- Never jump to conclusions without considering all aspects.

- Make your own decisions about what you hear (we are all surrounded by CBETs).

- Watch out for potholes.

- But, if faced with potholes, a change may be as good as a rest.