The panther, the dog and the squirrel…
As we get older and find ourselves looking for a gate to open rather than climbing over the fence, we can at least say to ourselves, “I may be slower, but at least I am wise.”
With that thought in mind, here’s an oldie but goodie for you!
One day an old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and soon discovers that he’s lost.
Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch. The old dog thinks, “Oh, oh! I’m in deep doo-doo now!”
Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.
And just as the panther is about to leap, the old dog exclaims loudly, “Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder if there are any more around here?”
Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-stride, a look of terror on his face and slinks away into the trees. “Whew!” says the panther. “That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!”
Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protections from the panther.
So off he goes, but the old dog sees him heading after the panther with great speed and figures that something must be up. The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther.
The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, “Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine!”
Now the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, “What am I going to do now?” but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn’t seen them yet. And just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says “Where’s that squirrel” I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!”
Moral: Don’t mess with us old dogs…age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!
Well, WE know that we have at least one thing going for us! Don’t we?
4 Comments
Yes, indeed. We have had lots of time to see the possibilities of work arounds – and learn how to use them effectively.
Fay, I love your idea of “work-arounds” as a better thought than “treachery” to describe what we have learned over our years!
AMEN!
I guess it’s all in how one chooses to see things — what looks to be a something I wouldn’t like may actually be an opportunity to experience something new and exciting.