The Crow and the Pitcher
"A crow, half-dead with thirst, came upon a pitcher which had once been full of water; but when the Crow put his beak into the mouth of the pitcher he found that very little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far enough down to get at it. He tried and tried, but at last had to give up in despair.
Then a thought came to him, and he took a pebble and dropped it into the pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped it in the pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the pitcher.
At last, at last, he saw the water mount up near him, and after casting in a few more pebbles he was able to quench his thirst and save his life. Little by little does the trick." --Aesop
Doing NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year? I'm one of those not quite ready for the challenge, but I know many have signed up. I'm wondering how this, the first day, has gone for those brave souls? A goal of 50,000 words in the month of November resulting in the rough draft of a novel is amazing to me, and I admire those who persist--and conquer. Maybe next year for those of us not yet there? Maybe so!
In the meantime, perhaps Aesop's story will serve as inspiration, no matter the stage of writing we're in. If we remember that word by word, like pebble by pebble, the job gets done and the (writing) thirst gets quenched, then we'll see our dreams come true. We just have to be sure to pack a few special pebbles for the journey--pebbles like perseverance, persistence, play, patience, pep-talks, and pick-me-ups. (Throw in some pumpkin pie, and maybe we'll be pumped for the next 30 days!)
Yep, little by little does the trick. Good luck to all in reaching your goals.
p.s. You know, there really is a crow--the rook--that has been known to drop pebbles in a jar to get what it wants? Studies have been conducted that show this to be true. See Connelly do his thing here at physorg.com. Aesop really was on to something.
*photo courtesy of sxc.hu
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This reminds me that I really need to get a nice copy of Aesop's Fables for my little one :)
ReplyDeleteI loved reading Aesop's fables to the children at school. Am attempting NaNo again this year. Only successful one time--the first year. It's tough and grueling with November being such a busy month.
ReplyDeleteI always thought this story was interesting. Thanks for reminding me about it. :) As for NaNo, I am not quite ready either. I love the idea, but am neck deep in too many other projects right now. Hoping to get time soon for the WIP and may pretend I am doing NaNo...lol
ReplyDeleteI loved Aesop's fables as a kid. The story is good inspiration! I'm going to go write, right now!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the grin. I *am* doing NaNo this year, and even if I don't make the word count goal it definitely inspires me to accomplish more than I would otherwise. Hope you try it next year!
ReplyDeleteI was also stopping by to let you know that I gave you the Lovely Blog award--which I somehow missed seeing that you'd already received :P. Ah, well, now you know you're loved twice over!
Hello, everyone--thanks for stopping in. Glad that Aesop and/or NaNo inspire us to keep getting those words down :-) And a special wave to Catherine and Cheryl as you undertake the NaNo challenge. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteAnd Cheryl, many thanks for the Lovely Blog award--how nice of you to send it my way. I'm heading over your way now to meet new friends from your list...
I love this. We can apply this story to so many situations--I'm in a new one now and this helps!
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