The Greedy Shepherd’s Tale: Appreciate what you have
An extremely avaricious shepherd once resided in a village. His only source of income came from some goats he owned.
He left the settlement far behind and one day brought his goats to graze on a hillside next to a forest. In pursuit of good grass, he embarked on a new route. He stepped a bit further away when it abruptly began to pour heavily.
He started looking for a secure location to hide from the rain and high gusts. He soon located one, tied his goats there, and then began to explore the area.
He was shocked to discover that there were numerous large wild sheep within when he got inside.
As soon as he saw them, he said to himself, “If these sheep were mine, I would be the richest person in the village. I should use this as an opportunity to get sheep outside so I can steal them.
After returning to his location, he began to gather grass. He soon had a large bundle of grass, but he lacked the materials to tie it. Then he turned to gaze at the goats he had tethered with ropes. He pondered, “Now that I have many sheep, why do I need these goats,” when he saw goats.
He instantly released the goats that were tethered, and he tied a large bundle of grass to sheep to entice them to accompany him to the settlement using rope.
He again made his way to a location with sheep, this time carrying a bundle, and he began giving the sheep lush grass to eat. He fed those sheep there for a considerable amount of time.
When the storm passed, he stepped outside and noticed that all the goats had left. Shepherd was glad to have gotten so many sheep together for free and didn’t regret his goats leaving.
After giving it some thought, he turned around and went back to retrieve the sheep, but he was horrified to see that they had already left. Sheep began to jump to the opposite side as soon as the rain ceased.
Sheep were too numerous for the shepherd to control on his own, so he raced quickly to them and attempted to stop them from fleeing. All of the sheep quickly vanished from his vision.
The shepherd yelled, “For you, I left my goats untied in the rain,” as he became enraged at those sheep. I laboriously chopped fresh grass to feed you all, yet you all abandoned me.
Shepherd lamented as he sat there. When his rage dissipated, he realized that he was the one who was greedy and had abandoned his goats because of the sheep, not the sheep who were opportunistic.
Lesson:
A person who abandons the company of his loved ones due to selfishness and avarice is ultimately left alone and must confess their sins.
