A Disagreement

21 A Disagreement I had an argument with my brother today. It was a stupid argument about who should be allowed to play with a new game. We could not agree, so we asked our mother to settle the dispute. She listened to both of us, considered our points of view, and then told us an interesting story. Long ago, two hunters went to the woods to hunt for food for their village. They spotted a goose flying low in the sky. It was going to be an easy shot. The two hunters loaded their bows with arrows and prepared to shoot the goose. One of the hunters remarked that the goose would make a tasty stew. The other hunter disagreed. “ A stew is good, " he said. “ But this goose will taste better if we roast it over a fire. " An argument followed, with each hunter insisting on his point of view. " We will cook it in a stew, " insisted one. “ No, we will roast it over a fire, " said the other. As they could not agree, they decided to ask a village elder what to do.

At the village, the elder listened to both sides, and then came to his decision. " Most easy, " he said, smiling. “ Half will be stewed, and half will be roasted. This is the only way to make you both happy. " The hunters were very happy with this decision. They quickly returned to where they had spotted the goose. Of course, the goose had long since disappeared. Instead of feasting on a cooked goose that evening, the two hunters were hungry. If they had agreed to get the goose first and then decide what to do with it, they would have gone to bed with full bellies that night. When Mom told my brother and me this story, we immediately understood what it meant. Sometimes it's better to settle an argument right away. Waiting to settle it later can lead to undesirable results.