Thursday, May 8, 2008

"Calm seas never make skillful sailors"

Life is an adventure; is'nt happiness enjoying this adventure??
smehw I could'nt go with the ending of the story published in Young World, The Hindu....
http://www.hindu.com/yw/2008/05/06/stories/2008050650010100.htm

I feel young adults should be told that,
"Calm seas never make skillful sailors" and
"A ship in a harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." - great nineteenth-century theologian, William Shedd
but the story preaches the other way..
Below is the story for ppl who could'nt access the link:
Happy wanted something more from life. She was tired of living in a pool of hippos, being happy all the time.
Happy was, well, always happy. Happy, the happy hippo, lived in a little pool with a lot of other hippos. All seemed well, until one day Happy decided that she had had enough. "Oh! My life is dull," she said. "Here I am, happy all the time with my family and friends, all telling me that it's good to have such a happy hippo around.
But, what about me? What about my life?" Bird, who always sat on Happy's back, knew that Happy was sad.
"Oh Bird, it's as if my heart is going to break. You see I am now five years old and all I have ever known is this pool and happiness. Isn't there anything else besides all this?" Bird nodded.
"I want to travel the world... to see life. I want more than a pool of hippos!" She got out of the pool and walked away with Bird on her back. She had walked a long way when she heard loud, raucous laughter. She saw monkeys swinging from tree to tree, pointing to her and laughing at her. They were even hurling insults at her. They had never before seen a hippo! Happy was upset. Bird said, "It's an experience, Happy!
A quick dip
It was hot and Happy's moist skin was getting dry and itchy. "Oh! for some water to have a quick dip," she thought. Just then, she saw a pool, invitingly cool. As she was about to take a plunge she heard a growl. "And who may you be?"
She saw a bright orange face. "This is a private pool, I'll have you know," said Orangeface. "It is mine. You need my permission."
"May I use your pool, dear Orangeface?"
"Don't be cheeky. No! You cannot use my pool," said Orangeface angrily. Shocked at such rudeness, Happy walked away.
She waddled off and came across a nice pond. She was just about to jump in when she heard a whiny voice. "Not so fast, fatty. Not unless you want to end up in my mouth!"
Happy looked to find a long, ugly creature with big, bally eyes and a wide, big mouth and sharp teeth. "This is my pond, so keep moving. Keep moving, I say."
Happy moved on. On and on she went, growing more and more unhappy with each step. Bird wanted to remind her about `wanting new experiences and seeing life'! Then unexpectedly the trees disappeared and they saw fields and fields of cultivated crop. They trudged on.
And then they saw it. It was the happiest moment of their lives. They found a large beautiful lake, with grass growing on the edges and trees swaying in the breeze. Happy tumbled into the water. The relief was enormous.
She giggled as she closed her eyes and felt the cool, blue waters cover her body. Suddenly, there was a scream. Happy saw a number of creatures on two legs, screaming and pointing. "What have I done now?" she thought.
Soon she had a net around her and was being dragged out of the water. She tried to tell them, that she wanted to swim but they wouldn't listen. Then the twolegged creatures hauled her into a big cage-like thing and she felt herself moving away. Bird wished he could remind Happy of the lovely home she had exchanged for her adventure.
After what seemed ages, Happy was dragged out and put into another cage. This cage however, did not move. It was rather cramped and there was a small pool in the centre. Happy went to dip herself in it and found that when she did, most of the water spilled out. But she was so tired, she fell asleep.
The next morning, Bird woke her up early because he couldn't understand what was happening. For in front of the cage were a number of two-legged creatures, all peering at Happy. "Have you had enough of new experiences? Have you seen enough of `life'?" asked Bird.
"Yes," whispered a very humble Happy. "Can I go home now?"

15 comments:

Mambotango said...

Thanks for this. This is the sort of moral story my father would tell, I think. I share your dislike for the conclusion they come to. What's the moral? Tend your garden and resist the temptation to explore the woods beyond the garden fence (Voltaire, Candide)? Bring on rough seas, I say. Down with the status quo. In any case you can only be happy with the status quo if you have your eyes closed to what is really happening on a day-to-day basis. That's why I prefer the moral embedded in the first Matrix film. Take the pill.

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