The Eagle and the Branch
A long time ago, someone presented two eaglets as a gift to a king. They were of very good breed. The king had never seen such magnificent eagles before. The king appointed an experienced man to look after them.
After few months passed, the king wanted to see them. When he reached the place, where they were kept, he saw that both eagles had grown quite big and were now looking more magnificent than before.
The king said to the man who was taking care of them, “I want to see them fly.”
The man went near eagles and signaled them to fly. Seeing the signal, both eagles started flying. One eagle was touching the heights of the sky while the other flew little and came back and sat on the same branch from which it had taken off.
Seeing this, the king felt something strange. He asked,” What is the matter? One eagle is flying so well whereas the other one does not want to fly at all.
The man replied,” Your majesty, I tried everything but he just doesn’t seem to want to fly.”
The king loved both eagles and wanted to see them both flying high in the sky.
So, the next day, it was announced in the whole state that the person who will be able to make that eagle fly high in the sky would be given a lot of prizes.
Many scholars and learned people came and tried to make the eagle fly but even after weeks passed, the eagle was still in the same condition.
Then one day, the king saw that both eagles were flying high in the sky. He couldn’t believe his eyes and immediately asked to find out the person who did this feat.
The next day, that man appeared in the court. After offering him gold coins as a reward, the king asked,” Tell me how you have done what the greatest scholars could not do?”
The man replied: “Your majesty, I am a simple farmer. I don’t have much knowledge. I just went and cut off the branch on which that eagle used to sit. When the eagle wouldn’t find the branch, he also started flying up with its partner.”
Moral:
We are all made to fly high but sometimes we become so used to what we are doing that we forget our ability to fly high. So cut the branch and fly.