There lived a group of monkeys in
the mountains. During one winter, there were heavy rains. Drenched in the rain,
they began to shiver in the cold.
They were thinking for a solution
and one among them found a firefly, which appeared to them as ember of fire.
Hoping to make some fire for themselves, they caught it and began to blow it
with some dried leaves.
A bird on a nearby tree was
watching the monkeys from above. Considering the vain attempts the monkeys were
busy with, it thought of advising them against it, "What big fools you
are. You are blowing at a firefly and not spark of fire. You will never be able
to make any fire out of it."
"What you are doing is a waste
of time. The firefly will not help you to protect yourself against the cold. Go
and find some shelter instead. You may find a cave or a burrow where you will
be protected from the rains and the cold winds."
The monkeys did not like his
advice. One of the old monkeys said, "Go fool yourself. Why are you
interfering in our task?"
But the bird disagreed. Not heeding
what the old monkey had said, it flew down from the tree and persisted that the
monkeys stop what they were doing. The monkey ignored his chatter but the bird
refused to stop.
In an effort to convince the
monkeys, the bird came close to explain that their efforts were useless.
Already frustrated by their vain
efforts, the monkeys became furious. One of the monkeys caught hold of the bird
and smashed him against a stone in anger, killing him.
The wise indeed say: Never
give advice unless you are asked for it.
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