DR. FRED MCKINNEY

An African Parable As Retold by Dr. Fred
Once a long time ago, there lived a very wise Queen lioness that ruled her land with justice and empathy. It came time that the Queen’s only daughter required a husband. It was the custom in this land for the hand of the princess to be granted only the most deserving. Every animal in the land craved the honor of being selected as the husband of the princess. So the Queen decided that tradition would be maintained and a contest would be held. In this land there were many dangers and threats that only wise stewardship could overcome. So it was important for the rulers of the land to be both strong and wise. The word was put out all across the land that eligible animals should come to the village of the Queen.

On the appointed day of the competition, there were animals from the entire queendom and some from distant foreign lands that were prepared to compete for the hand of the princess. The lioness Queen stood on a high rock and announced to the gathering throng that the contest would be won by the animal who could throw her royal staff into the air so high that it would not hit the ground before the count of ten.

The huge elephant pushed his large bulky body past all of the other animals and grabbed the staff and unceremoniously took it from the hand of the Queen and immediately heaved the staff into the air and ponderously began counting one, two, three, and by the time he counted to eight the staff had fallen into the dusty ground. Next a lion from the surrounding village that was known for being the fiercest fighter in the forest grabbed the staff. He tossed the staff and counted only to seven before the staff fell harmlessly to the ground. The line of contestants went through the ranks of the hippopotamus, the polar bear, the giraffe, the warthog, the rhinoceros, and the giant ape, and none of them was able to keep the spear aloft for the required ten seconds.

Then along came a comparatively frail young orangutan. The elephant laughed. The lion sneered. The hippopotamus threatened to eat the orangutan there on the spot. But undeterred, the orangutan took the staff and tossed it and counted five, ten, and the staff fell to the ground. There was uproar. The elephant proclaimed foul. The giant ape wanted the orangutan immediately disqualified from the competition and banned from the queendom. When the uproar settled down the Queen looked at her daughter and smiled and the daughter smiled back. The Queen then stood up, walked regally over to the orangutan and announced to the stunned crowd that the orangutan had won the hand of her daughter. The queen told the orangutan and the other contestants that wisdom is better than strength. And there is more than one-way to count to ten.

Continued