Every once in a while, I come across a story that I think is interesting or funny or just worth telling but that doesn’t fit into my main post. I’ll offer these stories in episodes of From the Cutting Room Floor, available to paid subscribers only.
The fictional medieval tale of Barlaam and Josaphat is found, among other places, in The Golden Legend. The story is that Josaphat is an Indian prince, locked away by his overprotective father because an astrologer has warned that Josaphat will become a Christian holy man. The tale is, of course, parallel to the Buddhist story of the origin of Siddhartha Gautama. But the Christian version has Barlaam convince Josaphat with a series of tales, and of all of these, my absolute favourite is the tale of the talking bird.
A hunter catches a nightingale, intending to eat it.
“Please don’t eat me!” says the nightingale, who can talk. “There’s hardly any meat on me! You won’t even get full! How about this. Let me go and I’ll tell you three very important bits of advice!”
“First give me the advice, then I’ll let you go,” says the hunter.
The bird agrees, then tells the hunter these three things.
First, never try to get something that is beyond your grasp