The Eagle and the Beetle

An Eagle, supreme among the birds and accustomed to dominion over all creatures, was engaged in a terrible conflict with a Beetle of the smallest kind. The Eagle, for reasons of his own pride or vanity, had injured the Beetle, and the tiny creature sought vengeance for this wrong. The Beetle, recognizing that he could never match the Eagle in direct combat, devised a strategy of patience and cunning. He followed the Eagle to his nest, where the great bird kept his eggs, precious beyond measure and the continuation of his line. Day by day, whenever the Eagle departed his nest to hunt, the Beetle would climb to the nest and push one of the eggs from the safety of the nest to the ground below. One by one, the Eagle's eggs were destroyed, and the great bird could not understand how this catastrophe had come upon him. The Eagle searched frantically for the source of his tragedy, but could not discover it. In his despair, he finally understood the cause and sought to make peace with the Beetle. But the Beetle, in his anger and desire for vengeance, would not be reconciled. Yet the Beetle's victory brought him no joy. For in destroying the Eagle's line and causing such suffering, the Beetle had acted against the most fundamental law of nature—filial piety and the respect owed to parents and family lineage. The Beetle, by causing such pain to parenthood itself, had violated the very essence of nature and righteousness. In his empty victory, the Beetle found himself utterly alone, shunned by all creatures for his violation of the sacred duty to honor family and lineage. His vengeance had cost him not only the Eagle's peace, but his own fellowship with all creation. Thus did both the Eagle and the Beetle learn that even justified anger must be tempered by respect for the bonds of family and offspring that connect all creatures to one another.