Page 31 - Fables volume 3

The Bugbear’s Dilemma

Bugbear, an innocent in nature, rambled alone through a forest. He
followed no plan, eating and sleeping as the opportunity and desire
arose. He examined and considered every object that came across his
path, but gave little thought to himself as himself. The subject never
came up: the forest had no mirrors.
Then one day he heard voices above him. He stopped to listen.
The speakers were Speckle and Freckle, a pair of kookaburras.
Bugbear quickly realized they were talking about him.
“No, Freckle,” said one. “That clearly is a bear. Not the largest one
I’ve seen, but definitely a bear.”
“I regret contradicting you,” rejoined the other. “But I, too, have
observed quite a few specimens of the species, and I can assure you
that the creature below us is a bug. Grant you, it’s a big bug.”
“Really, my fine feathered friend,” uttered the first bird, rather
exasperated. “Your eyesight is failing you. Can you really not discern
that what we are perched above is a bear?”
His companion ruffled his wings. “Spreckle: we have had our little
disagreements in the past, and I have often deferred to your
judgements in order to keep the peace; this, however, is too egregious
for me to ignore. That thing is a bug. You cannot convince me
otherwise.”
Then the birds became aware that Bugbear had stopped in his
tracks and was regarding them intently. Embarrassed, they launched
into the sky and were gone, their argument trailing off into silence.
Bugbear attempted to return to his unconcerned wandering, but
the seed of doubt had been planted in his mind. It grew. He began to
think: what did they mean? They sounded like intelligent animals.
Certainly they have seen a lot more of the world than I ever will. And
they have therefore observed the characteristics of a great number of
animals, and are able to distinguish the various types. Perhaps some
are ambiguous even when perceived from as close as a lower tree
branch is to the ground. Birds must have sharp eyes: don’t they catch
worms at daybreak? It’s the middle of the day. Yet they could not
identify me! But it’s not that I am something that Freckle and Speckle
had never seen before. It’s that they came up with such different
conclusions.
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