The Fox and the Desert

Through the brisk morning air chased the fox, his prey the hare. Against his better judgement, the hare led his pursuer into the desert, away from the forest which would have given him many places to hide. At noon the Fox broke, sick with hunger but seeing the impossible task that was outrunning the Hare.

Keeping a safe distance, the Hare said to the Fox, "Here we are, miles from our homes in the bitter reaches of an alien land. Band together, we must, or we will never see our families again." The Fox agreed to this truce, and replied "There, in the distance, I see an oasis. Let us travel that way and drink now, for we may hardly see a drop 'fore we find home." "Nay," said the Hare. "The wind blows in the opposite direction, from the coast and our home. This is how it has always blown, and thus we should travel that way in haste." The Fox did not trust the Hare, though,  and said in turn "a Harish trick of logic, you shall not use to fool me. I see water in my direction, but I see no wind, nor any coast in yours. Prove to mine eyes what you suggest, and I will join you that way."

The Hare could not prove his point to the Fox's eyes, so they agreed to part ways; the Fox moving toward the oasis, the Hare traveling against the wind. After a long while, the Hare came to a large dune. Looking back, he saw the Fox drinking sand in the far distance, no oasis in sight. To this he said, "Woe to he that believe in err' that sight be the only sense to which truth bears itself, for he will end his days chasing mirages." And the Fox did end his days that way.

The Duelling Hares

There was a set of Hares, equal in physical prowess in every way. They tested each other endlessly, but neither could best the other. "Fine, let us race to see who is the fastest, as that is the truest test of a hare in the real world" said one to the other, and the other agreed.

So they set to training night and day, and in this regard they were not equal. The first hare set to memorizing the route until he knew it perfectly. He ran the course until every turn and root was memorized. The second hare took to practicing on multiple routes, learning to surprise himself with jumping over various sized roots, and run turns with various degrees.

On the day of the race, the second hare hoped desperately for a flood to render the planned course useless, but none came. The first hare beat him easily, as he was familiar with the course. "Ha" said the first hare, "we may be equal in strength, but i am superior in brains!"

At that moment a fox came barreling through the wood, seeking out a hare for dinner. The fox chased the hares, and the second escaped as he was used to new terrain, where the other was not. As the fox chewed the first hare, the second looked on and said, "he who is limited to the false structure of schoolyard lessons is eaten whole by the variety of reality"