Fable

A man appeared on the horizon one day, he walked proud and tall. Bright shiny chains wrapped around him shimmered and trailed the ground as he walked through the slanted slippery slopes towards the village.

He tripped on the chains every now and again. They seemed to move by themselves to trip him up; they caught on branches and big rocks. He stumbled and sometimes faltered but never fell.

I watched him for the morning. He made steady progress and took a rest in the shade at noon near me. He seemed glad of the shade and place to sit. We sat for a while in silence.

"Tell me Sir why do you wear the chains? I mean no offence, but they seem to hold you back."

"I am not offended kind Sir. Before I answer tell me what you see."

I looked at him again not understanding, but I complied. "You are a strong man, large, burdened with heavy chains. They catch on things near you. They try to trip you, I don't in fact understand how you made it up the hill."

He nodded slowly, "I used to be a weak man and then I carried the chains and became strong. I used to be a clumsy man and then I carried the chains and became quick on my feet. I used to be a man with no purpose but then I carried the chains and learned determination."

I looked at him skeptically, "So you are trying to tell me that through enduring this burden you have grown strong, and by dodging the chains you became quick and by not giving up you have found determination?"

"You could think that if you wished to. But no, that isn't so."

I was thoroughly confused by this. "So what then? What is it?"

"What you saw from here was what you wanted to see. A man burdened by chains. These here chains do grab rocks and brush, so that when I trip I don't fall. And when you saw them move they didn't try to trip me, they showed me where the path was weak so I would not misstep. And yes they do slow me down and I have learned patience."

"Wow," I replied impressed. "That’s amazing! They hold you up and tell you where danger is. They must be magic what are they called?"

The man smiled slowly. "I call them Honor. I could get places faster without them and there are places I can't go because of them. But I know that where I do go is firm ground and I hold my head high knowing I'm on the right path."