You can also find storytelling ideas here: Teaching Guide, see #44-67.
You'll want to click on track 101 to start the audio portion for this section:
~ 101. The Two Doves ~
Two doves, husband and wife, gathered grain and stored it in a jar.
Through their hard work, they filled the jar.
"If I'm going to eat, I'll call you, and you can eat too," said the wife, and the husband promised the same.
The weather was dry, and the grain shrank. The jar was no longer full.
The husband saw this and shouted, "You ate grain without telling me!" Enraged, he pecked his wife to death.
Then it rained; the grain grew plump, filling the jar.
"What have I done?" groaned the husband.
Realizing his mistake, he died of grief.
~ 102. The Stork and the Crow ~
A stork quarreled with his wife and poked her eye out with his beak.
He was ashamed of what he had done, so he decided to run away.
"Where are you going?" asked the crow.
"I don't know!" replied the stork. "I just have to get away. I poked out my wife's eye! I can't bear the shame."
"Is that the beak you used to poke out her eye?" asked the crow.
The stork nodded. "Yes, this is the beak."
"Well," said the crow, "you can't run away from who you are. Wherever you go, your beak goes with you."
~ 103. The Chicken and the Crow ~
There was a chicken who lived on a farm, and she laid eggs week after week.
Some of the eggs the farmer took away, and some of the eggs the farmer allowed to hatch into chicks.
"Look at me!" said the chicken proudly one day after laying an egg. "I've laid yet another egg! I'm a very productive chicken!"
A crow happened to be flying by and he laughed at the proud chicken.
"Stop boasting about being so productive!" said the crow. "Your fertility doesn't do you any good: you're not laying those eggs for yourself, but for the farmer."
~ 104. The Noisy Crow ~
There was once a very hungry crow. He had been searching everywhere for food and then he found it: a huge chunk of cheese just lying on the ground. "It's cheese!" the crow cawed loudly. "Cheese! Cheese!"
He then began to dance around the cheese, rejoicing at his good luck.
Meanwhile, other hungry crows heard that crow cawing.
"Did you hear that?" they said to one another. "It's cheese!"
So those other crows came swooping down and attacked the first crow. They drove him away from the cheese and ate the whole thing themselves.
Moral of the story: Rejoice quietly.
~ 105. The Crow and the Fox ~
A crow stole a piece of cheese and settled high up in a tree to enjoy his feast.
A fox saw the crow and she wanted that cheese. So she gazed up at the crow and said, "What a lovely bird you are! Your feathers look especially bright and shiny today. You could be king of the birds if your song were as beautiful as your feathers."
"Oh, I can sing!" said the crow, and the cheese fell out of his mouth as he started cawing.
The fox then grabbed the cheese and ran away.
The moral: Beware of flatterers.
~ 106. The Fox who Played Dead ~
There was a hungry fox who decided to fool the birds by playing dead. She threw herself down on the ground, and lay there motionless, pretending to be a corpse so that the birds wouldn't be afraid to fly right up to her.
The crow, however, took a close look and saw the fox was still breathing. So he fluttered around the fox and mocked her. "You might be able to fool other birds," cawed the crow, "but you can't fool me. My eyes are as sly as your thoughts."
As the saying goes: It takes one to know one.
~ 107. The Eagle and the Crow ~
The eagle and the crow were arguing.
"I've seen you eating corpses, crow!" said the eagle. "I scorn you and your contemptible habits."
The crow replied, "You eagles boast of your nobility, but tell me which is truly the greater crime: to feed on creatures that are already dead, as we crows do, or to seek out living victims and feed on them, as do the eagles?"
The moral of the story is that an honorable reputation does not mean you aren't a criminal, and sometimes the most shameful crimes are those for which people feel no shame at all.
~ 108. The Eagle and the Peacock ~
The birds had decided to hold a beauty contest.
When the contestants were assembled, the eagle immediately declared that she should be the winner. "Behold!" she proclaimed. "I am surely the most beautiful bird that anyone has ever seen. What say you all?"
The other birds demurred, but then the peacock spoke up.
"You are indeed beautiful," he said to the eagle. "Although it's not so much your feathers" - and at this point the peacock unfurled his remarkable tail - "but rather your sharp beak and your fierce talons that make you the winner, threatening death to anyone who might disagree."
~ 109. The Crow's Warning ~
The birds were debating whether or not to elect another king in addition to the eagle.
The little birds thought that they'd be better protected if they had more kings.
The big birds, meanwhile, were hoping they might be elected to be the new king.
So, the majority of the birds were ready to vote in favor of electing another king when the crow spoke up and warned them of the danger.
"It's already hard enough to fill the stomach of one king," squawked the crow. "Think how much harder it will be to fill more than one royal stomach!"
~ 110. The Ambitious Crow ~
An eagle swooped down from a lofty cliff and snatched a sheep from the flock.
When the crow saw this, he wanted to do the same thing. "I'm strong! I've got wings! And a sheep would be something very nice to eat!"
So, squawking loudly, the crow swooped down and landed on a sheep, but instead of carrying the sheep away, all he did was get his feet tangled in the wool. He couldn't even fly away!
The shepherd saw the crow and laughed.
"You thought you were an eagle," he said, "but now you know: you're only a crow."
~ 111. The Crane and the Eagle ~
A crane and an eagle were soaring through the sky when the eagle saw with his eagle-eye something white down on the ground.
"I see a lamb down there!" said the eagle. "Do you see it too?"
"My eyesight isn't as good as yours," replied the crane. "But I know that farmers often lay traps here for birds. I'd advise you to be careful."
"It's a lamb, you fool!" retorted the eagle. "Maybe you can't see it, but I can!"
The eagle then swooped down like a bolt of lightning, only to be caught and killed in the farmer's snare.
~ 112. The Crane Goes Fishing ~
It was a clear night, so the crane decided to go fishing.
The starlight shimmered in the water, and the crane thought the flashes of light were fish.
"Look at all the fish!" she exclaimed.
But when she poked her beak into the water, there weren't any fish, and she went away hungry.
The next day, the crane again saw shimmering flashes in the water. They really were fish this time, but she thought it was just another trick of the light.
"You won't fool me again this time!" said the foolish crane, and she went away hungry once again.
~ 113. The Halcyon and her Nest ~
The halcyon built her nest on a cliff near the ocean where she and her chicks would be safe from hunters.
One day when the halcyon left the nest to go find food for her chicks, a great ocean wave came crashing over the rocks. It swept the nest away, and the halcyon chicks all drowned.
When the mother came back to the nest, she saw what had happened.
"Woe is me!" she cried. "I was afraid of hunters on dry land so I sought refuge by the ocean, but now the cruel ocean has killed all my little chicks."
~ 114. The Swallow and the Nightingale ~
The swallow, flying through the woods, heard the nightingale singing.
"Dear nightingale," said the swallow, "your song is so beautiful! Why do you conceal yourself here in the woods? Your song is worthy of a royal audience! Leave this wilderness behind and come with me to where the people live. I will escort you directly to the palace of the king."
"No, dear swallow," replied the nightingale, "I don't want to go to the homes of men, nor even to the palaces of kings. I prefer this solitude where I can sing my songs for God and for the angels."
~ 115. The Nightingale's Advice ~
A bird-catcher captured a nightingale.
"If I teach you three secrets," she begged, "will you set me free?"
The man agreed.
"First: when you lose something, let it go. Second: don't grieve. Third: don't believe in the impossible."
"Thank you!" said the man, and he set the nightingale free.
"By the way," she added, "there's a ruby in my stomach as big as an apple."
The man started weeping.
"Apply the secrets!" the nightingale said. "Let it go, don't grieve, use your brain: how could I have a ruby that big in my stomach?"
Laughing, the nightingale then flew away.
~ 116. The Nightingale and the Glow-Worm ~
There was a nightingale singing in the woods one night, and a glow-worm came to listen to her song.
"You sing nicely," said the glow-worm. "But look at me! I glow in the darkness. I am radiant! I am a burst of light! You might say that I am a heavenly star who dwells here upon the earth! Take a look!"
The nightingale laughed at the glow-worm and said, "The darkness allows you to shine, it's true, but as soon as the sunshine dispels the shadows, everyone will see you for what you are: a nasty little insect, nothing more."
~ 117. The Beetle and the Eagle ~
"Help me, dung-beetle!" shrieked a rabbit, fleeing from an eagle.
"I grant you asylum," proclaimed the beetle, but the eagle snatched the rabbit and devoured him.
The beetle vowed revenge.
She climbed into the eagle's nest and rolled the eggs out.
The eagle went to Zeus, laying eggs in his lap, but the beetle rolled dung-balls into Zeus's lap. He sprang up in disgust, and once again the eagle's eggs all smashed upon the ground.
"I seek justice for the rabbit!" shouted the beetle, and when Zeus heard the facts, he ruled against his own bird.
Thus justice was done.
~ 118. The Bees Go to Court ~
The hard-working bees filled their honeycomb with honey, but then the hornets came and claimed the honey and the comb belonged to them.
The bees resolved to take the case to court. "This is our honey," buzzed the bees.
"The honey is ours!" droned the hornets.
"I'm not sure who to believe," said the judge, "so I order you both, bees and hornets, to fill another comb with honey. Then I will decide the case."
The hornets were indignant. "We will do no such thing!" they said, and then they flew away in shame.
Thus the bees reclaimed their honey.
~ 119. The Bear and the Bees ~
Once there was a bear in the woods, looking for honey, and he was stung by a bee. This enraged the bear! Roaring loudly, the bear grabbed the beehive, slashing it with his claws.
The bear's attack roused all the bees in the hive who then chased the bear in a mighty swarm, stinging him all over. He barely managed to escape.
Licking his wounds later, the bear said to himself, "One bee sting wasn't that bad, but now I've been stung by hundreds of bees, all because I let myself get angry. My anger was my own worst enemy!"
~ 120. The Fly and the Mule ~
A self-important fly was sitting on a wagon-pole, shouting at the mule who pulled the wagon.
"What a slowpoke you are!" said the fly. "Why don't you hurry up? If you don't hurry up, I will bite you!"
The mule scoffed at the fly. "The only thing I care about is the whip in the hand of my driver," said the mule. "If he is satisfied with my progress, that is good enough for me. I don't like the sting of his whip, but as for your bite, I don't care about that. You are nothing but a little insect!"
~ 121. The Gnat and the Bull ~
There was a tiny gnat buzzing and whizzing through the air, looking for a place to land.
Then, the gnat noticed a bull.
"Begging your pardon, Mister Bull," squeaked the gnat as he descended to land on one of the bull's horns. "Let me rest here just a moment, and I'll fly away soon so that I do not prove to be too much of a burden."
The bull chuckled. "Oh, Mister Gnat," said the bull, "I didn't even notice when you landed, and I doubt I'll notice when you go."
The gnat, indignant, went flying away without another word.
~ 122. The Frogs and the Bulls ~
There were once two bulls who were waging war against one another.
As the bulls tore the ground, snorting and bellowing, the frogs who lived in a nearby marsh watched the two bulls fighting.
"Alas!" said the chief of the frogs. "This is bad news for us indeed."
"I don't understand," said another frog. "What difference does it make which bull wins and which loses?"
"Stop and think!" said the elder frog. "The winning bull will drive the loser away, and when that bull comes here to our marsh seeking sanctuary, just imagine all the frogs he will trample underfoot."
~ 123. The Frogs and the Sun ~
The Sun had decided to take a wife, and he invited all the animals to come to his wedding.
The frogs were leaping and jumping with excitement when they heard the news.
"There will be music at the wedding!" croaked one of the frogs.
"And dancing!" croaked another frog.
"And lots of food too!" croaked yet another.
A wise old frog rebuked them. "Stop rejoicing, you fools!" he said. "The Sun's marriage is bad news for us all. His heat is bad enough already. Just imagine how much worse it will be after he gets married and starts a family!"
~ 124. The Mouse and the Frog ~
The mouse hated the frog, and the frog hated the mouse.
Over time, their hatred turned into outright warfare.
"I shall rule the swamp," declared the mouse.
"Never!" replied the frog. "This swamp is mine!"
The mouse attacked, ambushing the frog, but the frog fought back bravely. They both wore armor made of dried mud and wielded tiny swords made from the marsh-grass
As the battle dragged on, a hawk saw what was happening and swooped down, catching both frog and mouse unawares, gobbling first one and then the other.
Thus ended the war between the frog and the mouse.
~ 125. The Cunning Stork ~
A stork enjoyed eating both mice and frogs.
To the frogs she said, "Frogs, I was talking to the mice, and they say you are cowards."
"We must go to war with the mice!" replied the frogs.
Then the stork went to the mice and said, "Mice, I was talking to the frogs, and they say you are cowards."
"We must go to war with the frogs!" replied the mice.
The frogs and the mice then marched into the meadow to engage in battle there, and while they fought, the stork feasted happily on the fallen soldiers of both armies.
~ 126. The Boys and the Frogs ~
There were some boys out playing one day, skipping rocks across the water of a pond.
"Look!" shouted one of the boys. "There's a frog! Let's hit him."
The boys then started throwing rocks at the frog, who plunged back down under the water. The boys waited, and each time a frog dared to stick his head out of the water, the boys threw their rocks.
Finally one of the frogs rose up from the water and spoke to the boys. "Boys!" shouted the frog. "This is just some game for you, but for us it is life or death."
~ 127. The Porcupine and the Snake ~
The winter was cold, and the porcupine needed to find shelter. He went from one house to another, and all refused him, until finally he arrived at the snake's house.
"Let me in, snake!" said the porcupine.
The good-hearted snake let the porcupine in.
The porcupine then got nice and warm, but the snake's house was small, and the snake did not like being pressed against the porcupine's prickles.
"There's not room for both of us," said the snake.
"Well, you can leave if you want," replied the porcupine, "but I'm going to stay."
Possession is nine-tenths of the law.
~ 128. The Dragon and the Eagle ~
A dragon and eagle were fighting, and the dragon had wrapped itself around the eagle, trying to squeeze him to death.
A farmer saw what was happening, and he freed the eagle from the dragon's coils. The eagle then soared up into the sky.
What the farmer did made the dragon angry, so the dragon spit poison into the farmer's drinking water.
The farmer was about to drink, knowing nothing of the poison, but the eagle flew up and knocked the cup from the farmer's hands.
Although the farmer did not realize it, the grateful eagle had saved his life.
~ 129. Zeus and the Wedding Gifts ~
Zeus, King of the Gods, was celebrating his marriage to Hera, the Queen of Heaven.
He invited all the animals to attend the festivities, and he expected that all the animals would bring wedding gifts according to their abilities.
The bee brought a gift of honey, for example, and the cow brought milk. The monkey performed a dance, the nightingale sang a song, and so on.
Then the snake arrived, carrying a rose in its mouth.
Zeus, however, refused the snake's gift.
"There's nothing but poison that comes from your mouth," Zeus said, "even if it looks like a rose."
~ 130. Zeus and the Dogs ~
The dogs were frustrated with their lot in life, so they sent ambassadors to Zeus with a petition.
But when the dogs beheld the god, they were terrified and pooped all over the halls of Olympus.
"That smells really bad!" shouted Zeus.
The dogs sent more ambassadors, and this time they stuffed perfume into their ambassadors' behinds.
When Zeus appeared, these dogs also pooped, and the mix of poop and perfume smelled even worse.
Zeus expelled the ambassadors from Olympus.
Even now the dogs are still looking for their lost ambassadors; that's why you see them sniffing each other's behinds.
~ 131. The Prayer of the Fox and the Wolf ~
The wolf said to the fox, "I admire your cunning, fox!"
"And I admire your ferocity, wolf!" replied the fox. "Let's direct our prayers to Zeus on Mount Olympus so that he can give each of us the qualities that we lack."
So the wolf and the fox both prayed to Zeus. "Hear our prayer, O King of the Gods!" they said.
Zeus, however, rejected their petition. "From the beginning of the world's creation," he proclaimed, "each animal has possessed its own attributes in abundance, but not the other attributes. To each of the animals their own attributes must suffice."
~ 132. Zeus and the Camel ~
The camel was jealous of the bull. "Just look at those horns of his, while I have only these long, floppy ears. I'm defenseless against all the other animals. I must have horns!"
So the camel prayed to Zeus. "I implore you, O King of the Gods! Please give me horns!"
But Zeus just laughed at the camel's request. "You would look ridiculous with horns," he said. "Not only do I refuse your request, I'm also going to shorten your long ears. Be content with what you have!"
The moral: Many who seek to have more end up with less.
~ 133. Zeus and the Rabbit ~
The rabbit admired the horns on the head of the stag, so he prayed to Zeus to grant him the honor of horns.
"You have given other animals many gifts, but I have nothing except swiftness of foot. I would like to have horns just like the stag!"
Zeus agreed to the rabbit's request and placed horns upon his head.
The horns were very heavy, though, and the rabbit could barely move beneath their weight. He was no longer swift of foot as before, and he looked ridiculous.
The moral: Beware of honors that do you dishonor in the end.
~ 134. Aphrodite and the Cat ~
A young man fell in love with his cat, so he prayed to Aphrodite. "O Goddess of Love, please change my cat into a woman!"
Aphrodite agreed.
Before the young man's eyes, the cat transformed into a beautiful woman, and they got married.
But Aphrodite was curious. "I wonder if this woman will behave like a woman or like a cat." To find out, she tossed a mouse into the midst of the wedding festivities.
The bride let out a meow, got down on all fours, and started chasing the mouse.
Appalled, Aphrodite turned the woman back into a cat.
~ 135. Zeus and the Donkey ~
There was a donkey who pulled a farmer's plow.
"This work is too hard," he thought, so he prayed to Zeus for a new master.
Zeus gave him to a potter who made him carry heavy baskets of clay.
The unhappy donkey then prayed to Zeus again, who gave him to a tanner, the cruelest master of all.
"Woe is me!" groaned the donkey. "This newest master shows no mercy now while I'm alive, and he'll show no mercy when I'm dead. This tanner will turn me into leather and make me into whips to be used on other donkeys."
~ 136. Zeus and the Lost Calf ~
A calf was missing from the farmer's herd. The farmer searched the meadows and woods to find his missing calf.
"O Zeus," he prayed, "if you just show me who took the calf, I'll sacrifice a goat to you!"
The farmer then heard a loud roar: it was a lion, and the lion was tearing his calf to pieces.
When he saw the savage lion, the farmer prayed to Zeus again.
"O Zeus," he whispered, "now that I see who took the calf, I'll also sacrifice a cow to you if you will just keep me safe from that lion."
~ 137. Zeus and the Two Sacks ~
When Zeus created human beings, he realized they were not perfect. Far from perfect, in fact.
"They'll need sacks to carry their faults in," he decided, and so he created some great big sacks, enough so that every human being would have two sacks: one sack to carry their own faults, and a second sack for faults belonging to others.
Zeus threw the sacks over each person's shoulders: the sack with other people's faults hangs down in front, and the sack with their own faults behind.
So that's why you are more aware of other people's faults than your own.
~ 138. Zeus and the Jar of Good Things ~
When Zeus created the earth, he took all the good things and put them in a jar.
He then chose a man to keep the jar. "Don't open it!" Zeus said.
"I promise not to open it," said the man.
But of course the man opened the jar, and all the good things flew back up to Zeus.
The man closed the jar as fast as he could, but the only thing still left inside the jar was Hope.
That is why people never lose Hope, who keeps promising she will get the other good things to come back someday.
~ 139. Athena and the Shipwreck ~
A rich man of Athens was making a voyage across the sea.
In a fierce storm, the winds and waves broke the ship to pieces. All the passengers were thrown into the water and had to swim for their lives.
The rich man, however, did not swim. Instead, he called upon Athena, goddess of his city. "O Athena, I'll give you a thousand gold pieces if you rescue me from the sea."
One of the ship's sailors swam by and shouted at him, "While you bargain with Athena, you should also try swimming!"
The goddess helps them that help themselves.
~ 140. Hercules and the Farmer ~
A farmer's wagon got stuck in the mud, and the oxen could not pull it out.
The farmer fell to his knees and implored Hercules to come to his aid. "O Hercules," he cried, "help me!"
Then a voice boomed from the sky as loud as thunder. It was the voice of Hercules.
"You fool!" said Hercules. "Put the whip to your oxen and put your shoulder to the wheel. Use all your strength to do what you can. You should only call on me when you have exhausted your own powers."
Help yourself, and the god will help you.
~ 141. Fortuna and the Boy ~
There was a young boy who fell asleep on the edge of a well.
The goddess Fortuna, or "Lady Luck" as some call her, came and stood next to the boy. "Wake up!" she said to him. "Wake up, boy, and go sleep somewhere else!"
The boy opened his eyes and looked at the goddess sleepily. "What difference does it make to you?" he asked.
"If you fall in the well, everybody will blame it on me," said the goddess, "instead of blaming you and your reckless behavior."
The moral: Don't blame bad luck when the fault is your own.
~ 142. Fortuna and the Farmer ~
A farmer dug up a buried treasure.
"O Earth," he exclaimed, "what a great treasure you have bestowed upon me! I will give you my thanks forever."
The goddess Fortuna then appeared before the farmer. "What are you thanking her for? Just who do you think gave you this treasure? I did, Fortuna, Goddess of Luck! You should thank me for this gift, not the earth," she shouted.
Then she added, "Thank me now and forever, or else your luck might change from good to bad. Remember: just as I gave you this treasure, I can also take it away."
~ 143. The Farmer and the Wheat ~
A farmer disliked the wheat's bristly beard because the sharp bristles cut his hands.
He decided to pray to Demeter, the goddess of crops and fields, for help. "O Demeter," prayed the farmer, "I beg you: let the wheat grow with all the grain but without the bristles."
The goddess granted the farmer's request, and the wheat no longer had any protecting bristles.
As a result, the birds came and ate all the grain.
The farmer regretted his request.
"In exchange for a small comfort," he said, "I have given up a great gain."
Be careful what you pray for.
~ 144. The Farmer and his Weather Wishes ~
Zeus had a farm that needed a tenant.
There was a farmer who agreed to work the land, provided that Zeus would arrange the weather, hot or cold, wet or dry, based on the man's own wishes.
The farmer thus had his own weather, different from the weather at neighboring farms. But because he didn't understand how weather works, the neighboring farms prospered, while his own crops all failed.
Finally he implored Zeus to take charge of the weather again.
"Divine Providence knows better what the earth needs," the farmer admitted. "I will follow heaven's way, not my own whims."
~ 145. Prometheus and the Satyr ~
The Titan Prometheus stole fire from the heavens and brought it down to earth.
A satyr was fascinated by the fire and tried to embrace it, wrapping his arms around the flames. "Ouch!" he shouted. "That hurts!"
"You have to be careful," cautioned Prometheus. "The fire will burn your beard if you get too close."
"I don't understand," said the satyr. "Why would you bring us something so dangerous?"
"Fire gives heat, and fire gives light," said Prometheus. "It's up to you to learn how to use it wisely. The danger lies not in its use, but in its misuse."
~ 146. The Satyr and the Traveler ~
One winter's night a satyr found a traveler stranded in the snow, so he took the man to his cave.
When the man blew on his hands, the satyr asked, "What are you doing?"
"Blowing on my hands to warm them," the man replied.
The satyr then gave the man some hot soup.
"What are you doing?" he asked when the man blew on the soup.
"Blowing on the soup to cool it."
The satyr then threw the man out of his cave. "I don't want anything to do with someone who blows hot and cold from the same mouth."
~ 147. Hermes and the Traveler ~
There was a traveler making a long journey, and he had grown hungry along the way.
"O Hermes," he prayed, "please help me! With your divine power, bring me good luck so that I can find something to eat. I promise to give you half of whatever I find!"
The traveler then found a bag of almonds lying on the road. He ate the nuts, and afterwards offered the shells to Hermes.
"Behold, Hermes," the traveler said solemnly, "here is half, just as I promised."
A greedy person will even cheat the gods in order to get what he wants.
~ 148. Hermes and the Woodcutter ~
A woodcutter accidentally dropped his ax in a river.
As he sat there weeping, Hermes appeared, offering him a golden ax.
"That's not mine," said the woodcutter.
Hermes offered him a silver ax.
"Not mine either."
Then Hermes held out the man's own ax.
"Yes, that's mine!" he said happily, and Hermes rewarded his honesty by giving him all three axes.
The woodcutter's friend was jealous, so he threw his own ax into the water. Hermes appeared, offering him a golden ax. When he reached for the ax, Hermes disappeared, and the man ended up with no ax at all.
~ 149. The Justice of the Gods ~
There was once a ship that sank into the ocean.
A man watching from the shore shouted, "The gods know no justice! Perhaps there was a criminal sailing on that ship, but they have killed everyone who was on board!"
As the man was speaking, an ant happened to bite him. Enraged, the man began stamping all the ants he could see.
The god Hermes then appeared and struck the man with his wand. "You are but as an ant in the eyes of the gods," he said, "and just as you have judged the ants, so we judge humankind."
~ 150. Death's Warnings ~
Death came to take an old man's soul, but the man protested. "That's not fair! You should have given me a warning first. I need time to set my affairs in order."
"I gave you plenty of warnings," Death replied.
"But I've never laid eyes on you before."
"You saw me when I came for others," said Death. "And more than that: I gave you signs. Gray hair, bad eyes, stooped back, poor hearing. Those were all my messengers. If you ignored them, that is no fault of mine."
Memento mori: the time to prepare yourself is now, not later.