Little Happier: Aesop’s Fable about the Fox and the Stork Illustrates an Important Truth about People

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

Education, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement

4.7 • 13K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2022

⏱️ 2 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In Aesop’s fable “The Fox and the Stork,” the Fox and the Stork play tricks on each other, and their actions illustrate an important principle: “Just because something works for you doesn’t mean that it will works for someone else.” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; [email protected] Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Leave a voicemail message on: 774-277-9336 For information about advertisers and promo codes, go to happiercast.com/sponsors Want to be happier in 2022? Order Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project to see how she approached the question, “How can I be happier?” and start a Happiness Project of your own. Happier with Gretchen Rubin is part of ‘The Onward Project,’ a family of podcasts brought together by Gretchen Rubin—all about how to make your life better. Check out the other Onward Project podcasts—Do The Thing, Side Hustle School, Happier in Hollywood and Everything Happens with Kate Bowler. If you liked this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and tell your friends! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier.
0:03.2	I love Fables, Paradoxes, Coens, Parables, and all kinds of teaching stories.
0:08.7	So naturally, I love Esop's Fables.
0:11.8	Esop was a storyteller in ancient Greece, credited with a number of Fables,
0:16.2	now collectively known as Esop's Fables.
0:19.7	Although his existence remains unclear, and no actual writings by him survive,
0:24.8	numerous tales credited to him have been gathered over the centuries.
0:28.7	One of my favorites of these Fables is the story of the Fox and the Stork.
0:34.7	Here is my version.
0:37.2	The Fox thought he was the cleverest of all creatures, and he loved to play tricks on his neighbors.
0:44.4	One day, he invited the Stork to dinner, and the Stork accepted eagerly.
0:48.7	He arrived on time and with a hearty appetite.
0:51.9	But when he sat down to eat, he discovered that the Fox had served him nothing but soup
0:57.2	presented in a low bowl. With his long neck and bill, the Stork couldn't get more than a few drops.
1:04.0	Still, he thanked the Fox for a pleasant evening.
1:07.8	A few days later, the Stork invited the Fox for dinner in turn.
1:11.6	The Fox sat down to discover that he was being served soup, just as he'd served it himself.
1:17.1	But this time, the soup was served in a tall jar with a narrow opening.
1:21.7	The Fox couldn't get even one taste.
1:24.3	The Fox said indignantly to the Stork.
1:26.5	How rude of you to invite me to dinner, and then serve me in a way that's so unsuitable.
1:31.8	The Stork just smiled.
	...

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