The bear and the bees
An Aesop fable

A bear roaming the woods in search of berries happened on a fallen tree in which a swarm of bees had stored their honey. The bear began to nose around the log very carefully to find out if the bees were at home.

Just then one of the swarm came home from the clover field with a load of sweets. Guessing what the bear was after, the bee flew at him, stung him sharply and then disappeared into the hollow log.

The bear lost his temper in an instant, and sprang upon the log tooth and claw, to destroy the nest. But this only brought out the whole swarm. The poor bear had to take to his heels, and he was able to save himself only by diving into a pool of water.

Moral: Be careful not to lose your temper at the expense of a single difficulty. You may make matters worse. 

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The quails
A story from the Jataka tales

Ages ago a flock of more than a thousand quails lied together in a forest in India. They would have been happy, but that they were in great dread of their enemy, the quail catcher. He used to imitate the call of the quail; and when they gathered together in answer to it, he would throw a great net over them, stuff them into his basket, and carry them away to be sold.

Now, one of the quails was very wise, and he said: “Brothers! I’ve thought of a good plan. In the future, as soon as the fowler throws his net over us, let each one put his head through a mesh in the net and then all lift it up together and fly away with it. When we have flown far enough, we can let the net drop on a thorn bush and escape.”

All agreed to the plan. The next day when the fowler threw his net, the birds all lifted it together in the very way that the wise quail had told them, threw it on a thorn bush and escaped. While the fowler tried to free his net from the thorns, it grew dark, and he had to go home.

This happened many days, till at last the fowler’s wife grew angry and asked her husband: “Why is it that you never catch any more quail?”

Then the fowler said: “The trouble is that all the birds work together and help one another. If they would only quarrel, I could catch them fast enough.”

A few days later, one of the quails accidentally trod on the head of one of his brothers, as they alighted on the feeding ground.

“Who trod on my head?” angrily inquired the quail who was hurt.

“Don’t be angry, I didn’t mean to tread on you,” said the first quail. But the brother quail went on quarreling.

“I lifted all the weight of the net! You didn’t help at all!” he cried.

That made the first quail angry, and before long all were drawn into the dispute. Then the fowler saw his chance. He imitated that cry of the quail and cast his net over those who came together. They were still boasting and quarreling, and they did not help one another lift the net. So the hunter lifted the net himself and crammed them into his basket.

But the wise quail gathered his friends together and flew far away, for he knew that quarrels are the root of misfortune.

Moral: If we work together we can succeed, but if we fight amongst ourselves we will get nowhere.

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A lone elephant wandered the forest looking for friends. She came across a monkey and asked, “Will you be my friend, monkey?” “You are too big and cannot swing on trees as I do. So I cannot be your friend”, said the monkey.

The elephant them came across a rabbit and asked him if she could be his friend. “You are too big to fit inside my burrow. You cannot be my friend”, replied the rabbit.

Then the elephant met a frog and asked if she could be her friend. The frog said “You are too big and heavy. You cannot jump like me. I am sorry, but you cannot be my friend”.

The elephant asked a fox, and he got the same reply, that he was too big. The next day, all the animals in the forest were running in fear. The elephant stopped a bear and asked what was happening and was told that a tiger has been attacking all the animals.

The elephant wanted to save the other weak animals and went to the tiger and said “Please sir, leave my friends alone. Do not eat them”. The tiger didn’t listen and asked the elephant to mind her own business. Seeing no other way to solve the problem, the elephant kicked the tiger and scared it away.

She then went back to the others and told them what happened. On hearing how the elephant saved their lives, the animals agreed in unison, “You are just the right size to be our friend”.

Moral: Friends come in all shapes and sizes!

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One day, a little crab and his mother were on the beach spending some time together. The little crab got up to move, but he could only walk sideways. His mother scolded him and asked him to walk forward by pointing his toes in front of him. “I would like to walk forward, Mom, but I don’t know how to,” the little crab cried.

Hearing this, his mom got up to show him how to walk forward, but she couldn’t do it. She realized that she was being unfair, apologized sheepishly and sat back down in the sand.

Moral: Don’t condemn someone for not doing something that you yourself are unable to do.

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A family pact is an agreement of your values.  It focuses on what is most important in your lives and relationships.

Having a written copy of your pact provides your family with a reminder on the expectations in your home.  Each family’s values are different, and so each family’s pact will be different. Here is an example:

Our family will 

• treat each other how we would want to be treated
• choose a positive attitude
• tell the truth
• always do our best

How to complete your family pact:

Explain that a pact is an agreement or promise between everyone in the family. This pact will be an agreement on what values are most important in your family.

• Ask each family member to contribute ideas to the pact.
• As a family, go through the ideas and determine which items reflect your most important family.
• Turn those values into statements.  How will you act?
• Post your family pact in a prominent place in your home. Or, you may want to make multiple copies and give them to each family member.
• You could have each member of the family sign the pact.

How to use it

Your family can use your family pact as a reminder of expected behavior.  Refer back to the pact as issues arise. For
example, “Our pact reminds us to treat people how you want to be treated. Please be respectful and trustworthy by
being home before your curfew.”

We’d love to see your Family Pact! Share it by emailing it to us at RayCenter@drake.edu.

For more parenting tips, download our Parents Guide to Teaching Good Character. 

Adapted from the Institute for Excellence and Ethics.

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