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THE FOX'S TALE - A FABLE ABOUT CAREER CHANGE

In the beginning, when God was creating the animals, there was a fox who did not have a place for his family to live. He went to God and said, "God, with all due respect to you, I would like to complain that I do not have a place for my dear wife and children to lay their heads each night -not a place at all to call home'".

"And what would you have me to do about that?" said God. "For you are a fox and it is your nature not to have a certain place. But, Mr. Fox, look at it this way. You have the whole country side to call your home. You can run as long as you want to and wherever you are - that is your home,"

"But I would gladly give up some of that freedom if I had a certain place that I could call my own", said the fox.

"Then, it is done," said God.. "From now on you will make your home in a tree branch. You will gather twigs and string and bits of this and that and make what we will call a nest' and that shall be your place of rest each night when your work is done".

"Splendid", said the fox, and he and his family went about gathering bits and pieces of this and that for their nest. Very soon, however, the fox was back to God with a complaint. "God. This just is not working out. We made a nest on a tree limb, but it just isn't very comfortable and it keeps coming apart and my babies keep falling out at night. Could you come up with another idea, please, God?"

Well, you can imagine what happened next. God suggested a nest built out in the river where the fox and his family had to swim under water to get to the entrance, like beavers use today. But the fox didn't like getting wet just to get in his front door. Then God came up with a hollowed out place way up in the top of a tree, but after trying that the fox said that the room was rather cramped and it took them so long just to climb up there at the end of the day that, by the time they got to bed, it was almost time to get up.

"Well," said God, "I've got just one more idea and that will be the last place left. It's either that or nothing." "Then I'll take it", said the fox. Just lead me to it." "Well, it is a bit off the beaten path", said God, "but just follow me." And God took the fox family way up a mountain and into a cave where it was dark and clammy and damp and cold. "There's plenty of room here", said God, "and no need to get wet getting in here, though, I'll admit it is a bit damp at times." "But God, there's no light in here. We can't see what we're doing.

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