view. All that was heard of it was the curator's
occasional disparaging comment. "Every day I see new defects and
ugliness in this fraudulent outrage," he would say. "Just look how
false the sun on the leaves looks, how phony is the wisp of that
girl's hair, how ugly the clouds there, and how awkward that boy's
position in the dance. How we were ever taken in by this obvious
cheat is beyond me." And finally, shaking his head to show his
regret, he concluded, "What we did was foolish and shameful."

Matthew 18:3

"The door to this classroom is farther down the hall, sir," said
the student.

"How dare you try to tell me where the door is," huffed the
professor, as he turned around and walked abruptly into the wall.
While he held his bleeding nose, he was heard to mutter, "Now why
did they move the door?"

* A proud man never doubts, even when his nose bleeds.

The Boy and the Vulture

A young boy was playing in the desert with a bow and arrow he had
made, when a vulture, always looking for a tender meal, saw him from
afar. The bird flew over and, seeing that the arrow was only a
barren stick, swooped down and pecked at the boy. "Why don't you
shoot me if you don't like my pecking?" it taunted. The boy shot
his arrow repeatedly, but the bird was too quick, and the arrow
always missed.

Finally, exhausted from chasing the arrow and deflecting the bird,
the boy sat down in the sparse shade of a dead tree. The vulture,
lighting on one of the dry branches above the boy, sat triumphantly
preening and smirking, and even plucked a few old feathers to drop
on the boy's head in contempt. "There's for your pains, feeble
one," the bird said haughtily.

The boy, however, would not be defeated. Carefully he collected the
feathers, fixed them to his stick, and with the resultantly accurate
arrow, shot the surprised vulture through the heart.

* In our pride we often unwittingly give our enemies the means to
destroy us.

* Perseverance and ingenuity, even in the face of humiliation and
defeat, will at last succeed.

[Suggested by Aesop, "The Eagle and Arrow"]

Three Flat Tires

Once in the fullness and complexity of human existence three cars
left the same party one rainy night and took three different roads
on the way home. Oddly enough, at approximately the same time, each
car suffered a flat tire, and the young couples inside suddenly
found their evening and their lives somewhat differe