Thursday, February 9, 2023

Cliffhanger: The tiger and the strawberry

A story to tell…

Virginia: How was the birthday party?

Bertrand: Fun. Jeremy brought me a picture of a tiger and Bianca a box of premium strawberries. 

Virginia: A tiger and strawberries?

Bertrand: It was kind of a coincidence. You probably know this “cliffhanger” story:

One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a hungry tiger. He ran but soon came to the edge of a high cliff. Desperate to save himself, he climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice. As he hung there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine. Suddenly, he noticed on the vine a plump wild strawberry. He plucked it and popped it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious!
Virginia: Sounds an epiphanic tale. What is the message?

________

Voice-over

A different telling of the story is in Mahabharata. Message is either Enjoy Present Moment or Only Fools Get Distracted By Transient Pleasures.

There is a Zen Koan version too. Being a Koan it posits a paradoxical question which is very difficult to answer.

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