You’ve all heard the idiom “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Though a number of people have been credited with its attribution, most scholars acknowledge Mark Twain as its original source. Coming from a slightly different angle, another takeaway is that all the muscle in the world can’t make up for the heart that’s not brave. That is the message of this week’s inspirational tale that has been told in some variation in numerous countries and cultures.
Once upon a time there live a little gray mouse. He lived in the same house as an old gray cat. The little mouse was afraid of the cat.
“How happy I would be but for that old cat,” he said. “I am afraid of her all of the time. I wish I were a cat.”
A nearby fairy overheard the little mouse’s plea and she felt sorry for him. So she cast a spell and turned the little mouse into a big gray cat.
At first the former mouse was very happy. But one day a big dog showed up and it angrily chased after him.
“Oh dear!” he said. “It’s not much fun being a cat with that dog around. I wish I were a big dog.”
Again the fairy heard him. She once again felt sorry for the old gray cat. So she turned him into a big dog.
Once more the former mouse/cat now turned into a dog was happy. Then one day he heard a lion roar.
“Oh my gracious!” yelped the dog. “That lion’s roar terrifies me. It’s not safe to be a dog after all. How I wish I were a lion, then I would be afraid of no one.”
Off he ran to find the fairy.
“Dear fairy,” he said when he found her, “please turn me into a big strong lion.”
Again the fairy felt sorry for him. Granting his latest wish, she cast a spell that immediately turned the mouse/cat/dog into a lion.
Some weeks later, a hunter passed by and upon spotting the lion, attempted to kill him. The lion was able to escape from the hunter but, now petrified, began immediately searching for the fairy.
“What now?” asked the fairy as the lion breathlessly approached her. “Make me into a man, dear fairy,” he cried. “Then no one can make me afraid.”
“Make you into a man!” cried the fairy. “No indeed, I will not. A man must have a brave heart. You have only the heart of a mouse. So a mouse you shall become again, and a mouse you shall stay.”
So the fairy turned him back into a little gray mouse, and away he ran to his old home.
A man that flies from his fear may find that he has only taken a short cut to meet it. ― J.R.R. Tolkien
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
William “Bill” Bacque