Ages ago, a flock of more than a thousand quails lived together in a forest in India. They would have been happy, but that they were in great dread of their enemy, the quail catcher. He used to imitate the call of the quail; and when they gathered together to answer to it, he would throw a great net over them, stuff them into his basket, and carry them away to be sold.
Now, one of the quails was very wise, and he said, “Brothers and Sisters! I’ve thought of a good plan. In the future, as soon as the quail catcher throws his net over us, let each one put his or her head through the mesh in the net and then all lift it up together and fly away with it. When we have flown far enough, we can let the net drop on a thorn bush and escape.”
All agreed to the plan. The next day when the catcher threw his net, the birds all lifted it together in the very way the wise quail had instructed them. The flock then threw the net on a thorn bush and, just as predicted, they all escaped. While the frustrated quail catcher tried to free his net from the thorns, it grew dark, and he had to go home with nothing to show for his labor.
This happened for many succeeding days, till at last the catcher’s wife grew angry and asked of her husband: “Why is it that you work all day all day as always, but you never bring home any quail anymore?”
The quail catcher despondently replied, “The trouble now is that all the birds work together and help one another, If they would only quarrel, I could catch them in the same numbers I used to.”
A few days later, as the flock alighted on their feeding ground, one of the quails in a greedy attempt to be first to the food, trod on the head of one of his fellow flock mates. “Who trod on my head?” angrily inquired the quail who was hurt.
“I wanted a greater share of our food for I do more than you and deserve it.”
The injured quail could not contain his anger and continued to quarrel to a higher degree with the unremorseful offender. Soon growing numbers of the flock joined into the fray on each side. One side brought up their past efforts at eluding the quail catcher, shouting angrily, “When we escape the quail catcher, it is we who lift the most weight of the net. You hardly help at all!”
That just made those on the other side angrier, and before long all but of few of the flock were embroiled in in a great tussle.
The quail catcher was nearby and both saw and heard the commotion. He recognized this as the chance he had been hoping and waiting for. He imitated the cry of the quail and cast his net over those who were feuding. Even after the net descended upon them, many of the flock continued their boasting and quarreling, and they did not help one another lift the net. So the catcher snared them and crammed them into his basket.
However, the wise quail and a number of his most ardent followers had not taken part in the chaos and had stayed separate from the fighting flock. When he saw what had happened with the quail catcher, the wise quail called his friends together and the all flew away, for they knew that such quarrels are ultimately the root of misfortune while cooperation is the key to maintain freedom.
The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Have an AWE-full Weekend!
William J. “Bill” Bacqué