Story The Gray Heron: adaptation of La Fontaine’s fable.
One cool summer day, an elegant gray heron emerged from the reeds and went for a walk
It was a perfect day to go for a walk and see the beautiful scenery!
He approached the lagoon and saw a fish that caught his attention. It was a carp that played happily in the waters.
– Uhmmm! It’s a big prey and it would be very easy for me to catch it! – thought the heron – But no!… Now I have no appetite so when I get hungry, I will come back for it.
The heron continued on his way. He entertained himself by chatting with other birds he found and later sat down for a while to rest. Without realizing it, three hours had passed and suddenly, he felt like eating.
– I’ll go back for the carp and eat it in one bite! – She said to herself the heron.
He returned to the lagoon but the carp was gone. His delicious food was gone and he no longer had anything to put in his mouth!
As he was leaving the place, he saw some fish swimming calmly.
– Yuck! – The heron exclaimed with disgust – They are simple tench. I could catch them in a jiffy with my long beak, but I don’t fancy them at all. I like to eat exquisite things and not those little fish that are tasteless and rough like a rag.
He continued observing the lagoon and before his eyes appeared a small, lanky fish with dark spots on its back. It was a goby.
– What a bad luck! – the heron complained – I don’t like tench but I like gobies even less. I refuse to catch that disgusting looking animal. My delicate palate deserves much better.
The heron was so superb that none of the fish he saw was to his liking.
Regretting, he searched here and there for something that would be a delicious morsel, but no luck. There came a time when she was so hungry that she decided to settle for the first edible thing she found… And that was a soft, sticky worm.
– Oh my god! – said the heron, about to vomit – I have no choice but to swallow this horrible bug. But I’m faint and I need to eat whatever.
And this is how the demanding thin-billed heron had to put aside his capricious attitude and settle for a more humble dish that, although it was not to his liking, fed him and satisfied his appetite.
Moral: Many times we want to have only the best and we despise simpler things but that can be just as valuable.