Strawberry Ice Cream

The little boy has never tasted Strawberry Ice Cream all his life. It was so hard to find in the place where he lives. Every time he goes to the neighborhood store to look for it, he would always get the same answer: No strawberry ice cream today, son.

Then one day, when his school visited another town for an outing, he was told by one of his classmates that the local store there was selling his favorite flavor. He rushed to the place only to find out that the strawberry ice cream was all gone. The little boy's heart sank in bitter disappointment. Reluctantly and with sadness he walked away only to gasp in pain as he accidentally bumped a prickly cactus plant on his way out. Bleeding physically and emotionally, he was a picture of dejection. 

A few days later he learned that all his classmates who went to the local store right after he left were able to buy his much coveted strawberry ice cream. The poor boy felt as if the world was collapsing all around him. Why was it that everybody got it except me? he wondered silently, grief filling his whole being.

Many days passed. The little boy was gradually getting over his sorrowful experience from the other town. As he was reading his book one rainy day, a classmate informed him that the store near their village now offers Rocky Road ice cream (another hard to find flavor). Even though he had tried Rocky Road before he thought that maybe if he had it again it would ease his misery. He dropped everything that he was doing and hastily went to the store. Only to be met with: "Sorry, son, we just ran out of Rocky Road." Head bowed, he slowly turned to leave when he suddenly heard: "But we have Strawberry Ice Cream, would you like to have that instead?"

Now substitute Ruddy Kingfisher for Rocky Road. And for Strawberry Ice Cream, Spotted Wood Kingfisher.

For a clearer understanding of the above "parable" please see my earlier blog