The Farmer and the Stork

A Farmer, setting traps to catch the Cranes that were destroying his crops, discovered one morning that his trap had captured not only the marauding Cranes but also a noble Stork, a creature of different kind and character. The Farmer stood before his catch with a club in his hand, prepared to kill all the birds within the trap. But the Stork, seeing his fate approaching, cried out with a plaintive voice: "Why do you include me in this punishment, Farmer? I am not of the kind that destroys your crops. I do not feast upon your grain as the Cranes do. Look upon my nature—are my habits not different from theirs? I come to your land not as a thief but as a helper, for I consume the very insects and creatures that would prey upon your fields." The Farmer paused and considered the Stork's words with careful attention. He examined the creature's form and heard the genuine distress in its voice. He observed that what the Stork said was indeed true. The Stork's form and nature were altogether different from the Cranes. His killing the Stork would be to punish innocence for the guilt of others. With sound judgment, the Farmer recognized that rigid application of a general rule without consideration of the particular circumstances could result in grave injustice. He released the Stork from the trap, saying, "Though the law of my trap was made to catch all birds alike, sound judgment requires that I distinguish between the innocent and the guilty. Go in peace, noble Stork, for your nature and deeds mark you as different from these marauders." The Stork, grateful for this merciful judgment, flew away and thereafter protected the Farmer's fields from the very pests that threatened his crops, proving that the Farmer's sound judgment had been rewarded. Thus did the Farmer understand that sound judgment—the ability to perceive truth and apply justice with wisdom—is far superior to the blind application of general rules.