Life Lesson From My Father

My parents divorced when I was 2. My father wasn’t much of a presence in my life. His most notable contribution to my upbringing was likely a story he told me on a camping trip when I was 11. We were roughing it in a tent. I was cold and couldn’t sleep. That’s when he told me this story.

A little bird was eager to explore the world and spent every waking moment flying around. It was winter. One day in the late afternoon he embarked on a long flight. Suddenly darkness fell and with it the temperature. It was too late to fly back home. The young, curious bird froze and fell to the ground.

As luck would have it, he fell on a road. In the morning, a horse was passing through and defecated on the frozen bird. The warmth defrosted the bird that came back to life. He was glad to be alive but stuck to his neck in stinky horse manure.

At the very moment a fox was passing by and offered to help. The fox promised to pull the bird out, help it get clean and dry. The bird eagerly accepted the friendly offer. It didn’t cross its mind to defend itself when the fox caught and devoured it.

The moral my Father explained:

Many years passed since I heard the story. Experience confirmed its lesson. Relationships are more gratifying when you judge people by their actions, not words. Real friendships can be messy. The divine ones, more often than not, involve… a fox.