the little fly

I was under the impression that Aesop’s Fables were supposed to teach a lesson but I am having a hard time finding it in this one.

There was a fly buzzing around a barn one day when he happened upon a pile of fresh cow manure. Due to the fact that it had been hours since his last meal, he flew down and began to eat. He ate and ate and ate.

Finally, he decided he had eaten enough and tried to fly away. He had eaten too much though, and could not get off the ground. As he looked around wondering what to do now, he spotted a pitchfork leaning up against the wall.

He climbed to the top of the handle and jumped off, thinking that once he got airborne, he would be able to take flight. Unfortunately he was wrong and dropped like a rock, splatting when he hit the floor. Dead.

(via burstnet.com)

Comments

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  1. Hmmm.
    Don’t eat too much cow manure?
    Don’t fly on a full stomach?
    Never jump off a pitchfork with a tummy full of cow manure?
    Don’t eat before you leap?

    Well, I think that the lesson has to do with gluttony. I’m not sure how it’s supposed to apply to people. Maybe it’s one of those stories that people understood at the time, but we really don’t get today.

    Comment by Jan on October 1, 2003 @ 5:23 am
  2. Lesson (according to Jason): “Don’t take on more than you can bear, and be able to identify it when you do.”
    That, or: “Don’t take any crap from Da’ Man!”

    Comment by jason on October 1, 2003 @ 8:40 am
  3. I had that problem last thanksgiving. Only it was turkey and potatoes.

    Comment by carlene on October 1, 2003 @ 9:04 am
  4. Never fly off the handle when you’re full of crap.

    Comment by mckay on October 1, 2003 @ 9:40 am
  5. Carly: You don’t happen to have a video of the incident, do you?

    McKay: That’s the best one I’ve heard so far.

    Comment by dan on October 1, 2003 @ 9:55 am
  6. I think maybe it’s a twisted version of the original Aesop fable, “The Flies and the Honeypot”. The basic moral is the samel, but the honeypot one is easier to understand, and it better fits the format usually connected with Aesop.

    Comment by Heather on October 1, 2003 @ 10:07 am
  7. The moral is don’t think you can outsmart the system after you’ve made a mistake. You’ll have to suffer the consequences like anyone else.

    For reason, the only other thing coming to mind is, “Confucious say, man who stand on toilet is high on pot.”

    Comment by Renee on October 3, 2003 @ 12:19 am
  8. I don’t think it’s an Aesop Original(tm).

    Observe: google

    Sorry about the naughty words. :^)

    Comment by mckay on October 3, 2003 @ 12:20 am
  9. As far as I know, there is no video…

    Comment by carlene on October 3, 2003 @ 12:20 am

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