⇒ 95

[ofhope]

[ The following is written in stiff handwriting, definitely an intent to be anonymous, despite it just being a story. But he does have a history with these tales. ]

A rich man wanted to give his wife a surprise for her birthday, so he went around town inviting his friends and relatives to attend a sumptuous banquet in her honor at his house. His dog got wind of this and considered it would do no harm if he invited one of his friends to join him at the feast.

Dogs are always hungry and they’re always on the look-out for a free meal, and this dog’s friend was no different, so he had no qualms about accepting the invitation. He turned up early that evening, and observed the cooks hard at work preparing the various dishes. He really thought this was his lucky day and looked forward to stuffing himself so that he wouldn’t feel hungry for two or three days at least. He got so excited that he raised his tail, and wagged it vigorously.

One of the cooks saw the wagging tail sticking up over the pots and pans, and became very annoyed at seeing a stray dog wondering around in the kitchen. He caught the dog by its wagging tail, and after swirling it around a couple of times, threw it with all his might out of the open window. The dog came down hard against a wall, and howled away. He was still limping when he met some of his friends down the road. “I thought you were going out to a great dinner party tonight, but you look rather worse for wear”, said one of his friends, “whatever happened?”

The limping dog shook his head. “I had a fantastic time, I think”, he said “The wine flowed freely all night long and I must have drunk rather more than is good for me. I can’t for the life of me remember how I got out of there!”

[ After an extended pause, he adds, ]

The moral?

[ ooc; Open in person and over the journal! Joshua's sitting on a tree branch of Alexstrasza's tree, so anyone can stumble across him if they would wander into the woods! ]

Comments

[onehundred]

Stupidity is self-inflicted.

[ofhope]

Applicable elsewhere, but no.

[onehundred]

What happened to the owner's dog?

[ofhope]

Who knows.

[onehundred]

Is it the stray dog we should even be thinking of?

[originalcopy]

Dogs can't tell the difference between being drunk and having a concussion...

[ofhope]

Thank you for showing everybody a good example of how not to answer.

[originalcopy]

Nothing wrong with my answer... you're the one that has a story with a stupid dog.

[someone may be just a teeny bit drunk himself.]

[ofhope]

Just because you don't understand the point of a fable doesn't make it stupid, but that's a common defense that the ignorant like to employ.

[unvarnished]

Nice story. Thanks for sharing it. [not answering the question, though]

[ofhope]

You like stories, don't you?

[unvarnished]

Yeah. I love stories.

[ofhope]

You should know the moral.

dictated;

[gottaknockhard]

[... For some reason this gets his attention. Maybe it's his history with story telling.]

Perception is everything.

written;

[ofhope]

Try again.

dictated;

[gottaknockhard]

I'm out of ideas.

Spike

[ofhope]

[ Joshua switches to dictation now. ]

Only because you're preoccupied with what you're going to tell me, I'm sure?

[revolter]

It's a fable isn't it?

[ she hums in thought for a moment before offering: ]

the dog sneaked in for a free meal uninvited and the moral is -- if you steal in without an invitation then you will get thrown out.

[ofhope]

Close.

[revolter]

I am?

[ that does cheer her up a bit. ]

...There's no such thing as a free meal? you have to be invited.

[ofhope]

Closer.

Dictated

[cyan_maid]

The moral? Um...let your elders know when you've invited a guest to stay, and they'll be welcomed instead of shunned at the door?

written;

[ofhope]

I suppose that's the roundabout way of putting it.

Dictated

[cyan_maid]

So I got it right, then! In a roundabout way.

[ofhope]

I'm afraid there's no prize, other than the satisfaction.