Two sisters, who had always been very close, found out one day that they would be marrying men from different villages. Distraught that they would be separated by some distance and nervous that they would grow apart, the sisters went to the village healer and asked if he had any potions to help cement their bond for life. He told them that yes, he did, but he would need a lion’s whisker to make it. The two sisters spent many weeks lingering near where the lion drank from the lake so that he would eventually trust that they meant him no harm. After many weeks, one of the sisters finally reached out and pulled a whisker from the lion, and they took it to the healer. “Alas,” he said, “there is no potion after all, but if you have the dedication, bravery, and can make a lion trust you, you already have everything you need to keep your relationship strong forever.

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One day, two men, who had been best friends since they were very young boys, were walking into town when a beautiful bird with one black wing and one white wing flew in between them and glided along next to them as they walked. Later, one of the men said to the other, “Wasn’t that a beautiful white bird we saw earlier?” The other replied, “The bird wasn’t white, it was black!” A long, bitter argument ensued because they were each certain they were right. The bird flew back to them later as they were arguing and said, “Look, you were both wrong, I am both black and white.” The men became angry with the bird for making them fight, but the bird only said, “It is not my fault, but yours, for not trying to see from each others’ perspectives. How foolish you were to cast away your friendship so quickly simply because you both thought you were right about something so trivial!”

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The clever bobbejaan (baboons) of the Western Cape sometimes find their way on to cultivated vineyards.  Wild with excitement at the sight of their favorite snack, they make their way down the rows, eagerly snatching bunch after bunch of grapes and tucking them under their arms.  When they get to the end of the row, they smugly believe they have tucked away dozens of bunches, only to find that as they lifted their arm to tuck away the next bunch, they lost, of course, the bunch that had been tucked there before.  And although the vineyard owner is angry at the bobbejaan for tearing off so many grapes, he can’t help but laugh as he realizes that we, too, often fail to be content with what is under our arms and instead snatch the next bunch, only to lose what we had.

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