Ethel and Her Egg
September 24, 2009
In receiving and giving possessions,
we should be clear in what we are doing.
It is better to give more and receive less.
Everyone knows how lady dragons are about their eggs. Dedicated. Protective. Fierce when necessary.
That spring there was no need for ferocity as fire grass was plentiful. Daily, the husbands brought bundles of grass for their wives so they could all share, as was the custom.
All, that is, except Ethel.
Ethel had forgotten that to have food in the future, she needed to share what she had now. So, as her husband brought grass, she hid it. And when the ladies shared their grass with her, she didn’t write it down in her ledger so she’d be sure to repay them. Ethel just put the grass in the pantry and never bothered with updating her ledger.
But that was just one way that Ethel was different. When it came to protecting her egg, Ethel made the other lady dragons pale by comparison. She would hold on to her egg and never leave it. At night, she’d carry it into the cave and lock the door. In the morning, she’d carry it outside. Then she’d crouch in the doorway, furrow her brow, and glower through narrowed eyes.
The other dragons became increasingly concerned about her. One said he’d go tell Ethel’s mother what was going on. When she was told, Ethel’s mom was horrified. And very worried. She came running to Ethel’s cave where she saw her daughter crouching. Ethel’s mother took one look at her glowering daughter and burst into tears.
Since she had three heads, when Ethel’s mom burst into tears, it was really something. As one head wailed, another tearfully looked in their handbag for a handkerchief. The third looked on in fright. Ethel demanded, 
“Mother, what are you doing? All this noise will disturb the egg! And what are you doing here?”
Ethel’s mother’s third head knew what she had to do. “Dear, your friends are very worried about you and your ledger. Your father and I raised you to be unselfish and like all good dragons to always update your ledger. Also, to always be more generous to others than they are to you. This is the only way we can hold our heads high.“
“But I also came to see about the little one. You’re being far too protective of your egg. Caring for it is one thing. When your baby hatches, he’ll take one look at your expression and be too scared to leave his egg! Then I’ll never get to see my grandson!” And with that her mother’s third head burst into tears.
Well, that got Ethel’s attention. Her baby afraid of her and refusing to leave the egg? Her not being generous as she had been taught? All three of her mother’s heads crying at once?
“Mother, I’m sorry. I’ll stop glowering. See? No more glower.” And indeed Ethel was beginning to smile.
“Mother, I owe you big time. Now, let’s find my ledger.”
It is always good to give more than we receive.
Reader Comments (2)
Thank you so much, and I look forward to the book, or as someone suggested, an audio version.
Judy E.
Thank you for your kind words. From a teacher/mother/grandmother, not to mention good friend who very helpfully and honestly shares how she thinks, your comments are much appreciated. The book will be printed by the Pure Land College Press and is thus going through the final stages of approval. Then it goes to Taiwan to be printed. My voice is sloooowly improving and I'm almost at the point where I can begin to record the audio book. I'm also working on a website and hope to write more stories for the maxims I couldn't fit in the book and post them online as I write them.