The Lumberjack and The Beaver: A Political Fable

[MineralMan]

The Lumberjack and The Beaver: A Political Fable

An old lumberjack came to the end of his days, and passed on into the next stage of Eternity. His passing was uneventful and peaceful, but he came to his new consciousness in the middle of a vast forest. He looked around in an attempt to find some direction and to make some sense of his situation, and saw that there was a bright new ax on the ground next to him, obviously very sharp and of excellent quality.

As he contemplated his next step, an unearthly voice spoke, seeming to come from all directions, saying "Woodcutter, you are in a place of transition. In order to move on to the next level, you are assigned this task: Cut down this forest, using the ax beside you. This ax will never grow dull. When the entire forest is down, you will be transported to the next level of eternity." The voice stopped, leaving nothing but silence in the forest.

Now, this lumberjack had cut down many, many trees in his life. It was his life's work. "But," he thought, "this is far too many trees. It is impossible that one man could cut them all down. I will be stuck here for all of eternity." Dejected, he sat down, bemoaning the fate that had befallen him. His task was hopeless, he was sure.

Just then, the unmistakable sound of a tree falling came to him, from his left, and not too far away. The woodchopper picked up his ax and walked toward the direction of the sound. After a few minutes, he found himself in a small clearing, where a number of trees had been felled, but he could not see the lumberjack who had felled them. Then he heard another sound, just to his left, and walked in that direction.

There, he found a beaver, busily gnawing at the base of a tree. He watched as the beaver removed one chip after another. Finally, he exclaimed, "What are you doing there, beaver?" The beaver looked up from his endeavor and said, "What does it look like, stupid lumberjack? I can't leave here until the entire forest is down. Why are you just standing there? Duh..."

Moral: All progress is made one chip at a time.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

1. I can't imagine a higher power that would want a forest taken down in an afterlife.

[Warpy]

3. Trickster might

[MineralMan]

6. Indeed. Consider Sysiphus...

There are some pretty mean rulers of the afterlife, it seems. I dunno...

[MineralMan]

4. Hmm...I can't imagine any afterlife at all, so I invented one.

It's a fable. I get to invent any sort of afterlife I want, I think. Some people think there's even a place in eternity where people burn in fire forever. Is a forest that must be cut down any more odd than that?

This is not about the afterlife...

[VMI Dem]

2. How many beavers and lumberjacks are cutting down this same forest?

Are the trees our civil rights?

[MineralMan]

5. I don't know. So far, there appears to be only one of each.

The forest is nothing but a large task that must be completed. Perhaps there are many lumberjacks and beavers working on this forest. The trees do not represent anything. It is the forest. Forests have many trees. It is a task. It is something that must be done. Progress must be made.

[Angry Dragon]

7. Do they get to sell the trees

or does all the money go to the God Corporation to pay for the afterlife??

Some serious questions need to be answered......:evilgrin:

[MineralMan]

8. Hmm...to whom would they sell them?

So far, there's only a lumberjack and a beaver, and a very large task. I think you're thinking of another fable. This one doesn't involve corporations. Just the lumberjack, the beaver, and a forest that must be cleared. There's a job to do. For goodness' sake, it's a fable. No information exists other than what is already told. :evilgrin:

[Angry Dragon]

9. The sun is out, the skies are clear

Too nice to be chopping down trees

The best stories or fables are the ones where good triumphs over evil

Just giving you a hard time, I liked the fable even though one should not have to work with a talking beaver.

Have a nice weekend Mineral Man, full sun tomorrow they say...........

[MineralMan]

10. Grumble, grumble, grumble, whine...

But the humidity...waaaaaa...it'll be hot...why me? :rofl:

[Angry Dragon]

11. See, no tree cutting this weekend

I always figure the heat and humidity helps to keep the
muscles loose as one gets older and helps the pores open
up to get the toxins out of the body.

Just a different perspective, like drinking hot coffee on a hot day...........

Use your fine mind to travel to a different plain or a plane to travel..........

[KittyWampus]

12. Consider the Armadillo- he only sees what is immediately front of him.

Poor eyesight, you know.

So whenever someone or something else comes up from behind, the Armadillo jumps in frightened surprise. Over and over. Cause he only sees what's right in front of him.

Mr. Armadillo is a prime example of what we become when we refuse to see the Big Picture.

And since this might be too subtle, I'm referring to those people who only see whatever end goal they have in mind and proceed to freak out anytime something not comporting with their goal comes up from behind them.

[MineralMan]

13. The poor Armadillo. And if Mr. Armadillo is really, really

scared, he rolls up in a tight ball until the danger goes away - protected by his hard shell.

[KittyWampus]

18. Yeah, Mr. Armadillo is quite the Cynic. He thinks he's an Idealist but in reality

he's just very short-sighted.

[Mithreal]

14. Rampaging cave dwellers tirelessly whipping up rabid woodchucks, it's getting old.

[Scurrilous]

17. OTOH..

.."Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" never gets old.

[MineralMan]

19. Don't like my fable? Well, not every post is enjoyed by every

DUer. And so it goes, eh?

[Name removed]

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[naaman fletcher]

15. I think I saw a video on the internet about a lumberjack and a beaver once. nt

[Mithreal]

16. Oh damn! +1 That's it! Bravo! Well done!

[TheKentuckian]

20. What the woodcutter and the beaver failed to understand is that the unearthly voice

is the kind of asshole that causes a thousand trees to spring fourth for each one they cut down between them.

Each step of supposed progress actually adds to the task. One step forward and nine hundred ninety nine back.

The booming voiced prick is the problem not the woods.

[Yeshuah Ben Joseph]

21. The key to telling a good parable

is to make it easy enough for your audience to get the real message without having to overthink it. And I say this as someone who has often used parables as teaching methods.

[MineralMan]

24. Jesus? Is that you? You're really, really real?

Oh, man...sorry, dude. :rofl:

[Name removed]

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[MineralMan]

32. Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

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[MineralMan]

34. Look, if you have something to say, please just say it. I can't respond

to what I do not understand. I do not understand your comment. If you want me to reply, then please be clear about what it is you're trying to say, and I will respond. Thanks.

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. No matches in heaven? n/t

[MineralMan]

25. Guess not. But, who said this was heaven?

[LWolf]

23. I'm not that woodcutter.

I wouldn't have agreed to clear cut a forest in order to "progress." That sounds like the wrong kind of progress to me.

I probably would have joined up with the beaver; I'd build a cabin, he'd build a dam, and we'd be stewards for the forest, living happily as a part of the forest until time for the next transition. Or there wouldn't be a transition, because the beaver and I depend on the forest. We'd rather protect it than cut it down.

I like forests. They are my kind of paradise.

Here's a favorite spot in a forest not far from my home:

[MineralMan]

26. Allegorically, that wasn't an option, though, you see...

[LWolf]

28. There's always more than one choice, and more than one way

to do things. My world is never so black and white, so I'm going to predict that my after, my transition, and my allegorical situations aren't, either. :D

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

27. He's got a beautiful forested world and beaver.

Methinks he's already arrived in Heaven.








:hide:

[Fumesucker]

31. I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK..

I sleep all night and I work all day..

Except when I'm hunting beavers on a Saturday night of course..