Bulls and Bears
Posted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 1:03 pm
As I half listened to conference last weekend a parable formed in my mind. It is a parable of Bulls and Bears.
A woman was traveling through the countryside and stopped at a farmhouse for the day. There was a pasture behind the house with a few cows and the smell that entailed. She offered to help out and went out and fed and watered the animals. As she walked through the pasture she noticed something strange with the droppings; they had colorful bits in them. She looked closer and noticed that some of them were pretty big, and shaped like gummy bears. These cows must have been getting gummy bears somewhere, and for a long time, because even the old dried up dung had gummy bears in them.
When she finished up she went back to the house and sat down for dinner with the farmer and his family. She asked him about the gummy bears in the cow pies, and the farmer's eyes lit up. "I'm glad you asked!" he said. He pointed behind his shoulder and the woman realized that one of the droppings was mounted on the wall, in a glass case. "This is The Cow Pie with Great Gummy Bears." He stated in a tone that she could tell he had used many times. "Oh, interesting. It looks like a pile of bullsh** with gummy bears in it to me" she said. He laughed, "Yes, some people call it that, but we prefer to call it The Cow Pie with Great Gummy Bears, or CPGGB for short."
The farmer talked about CPGGB for a while and she politely listened. He focused mainly on the gummy bears, but also about how the strands from the half digested grass gave the gummy bears a place in the pie, and how going through the cows digestive system really improved the gummy bears. When he was winding down she said, "Well, if you want a gummy bear why don't you just get a fresh gummy bear?" "Gummy bears aren't truly gummy bears unless they are part of CPGGB. Like I said, the location in the pie and the cow's digestive juice, and even the covering of crap are vital," he responded.
They had finished dinner and she got up to take a closer look at CPGGB. As she walked she asked the farmer about the fresh piles of dung she saw in the field. He smiled and told her that those piles are still moist so they are still maleable; how could those have the right gummy bear locations? She pointed out that his cow pie must have once been moist, but he just mumbled something about how special their pie was. "What about the other hardened gummy bear cow pie's?" she asked. "Oh, those just aren't the same. Some of them have some really good gummy bears, and many even have similar shape and structure, but none are quite right. Just CPGGB."
She got a couple feet away, but couldn't get any closer; it was placed in such a way that you couldn't get a really close look. From where she was she could see what looked like a hole where a gummy bear had been removed. She asked about it and the farmer responded that there was never a gummy bear there. Later, the farmer's wife told her that it actually was there, but it was just because the farmer couldn't handle the true form of CPGGB until later; he was a man of that time.
The farmers gave her a room and she went to bed for the night. As she laid there she could hear them talking in the living room. The farmer sighed and said to his wife, "You know, if I weren't so attached to CPGGB I really wouldn't like crap covered gummy bears. Sometimes that poo smell is just so strong."
A woman was traveling through the countryside and stopped at a farmhouse for the day. There was a pasture behind the house with a few cows and the smell that entailed. She offered to help out and went out and fed and watered the animals. As she walked through the pasture she noticed something strange with the droppings; they had colorful bits in them. She looked closer and noticed that some of them were pretty big, and shaped like gummy bears. These cows must have been getting gummy bears somewhere, and for a long time, because even the old dried up dung had gummy bears in them.
When she finished up she went back to the house and sat down for dinner with the farmer and his family. She asked him about the gummy bears in the cow pies, and the farmer's eyes lit up. "I'm glad you asked!" he said. He pointed behind his shoulder and the woman realized that one of the droppings was mounted on the wall, in a glass case. "This is The Cow Pie with Great Gummy Bears." He stated in a tone that she could tell he had used many times. "Oh, interesting. It looks like a pile of bullsh** with gummy bears in it to me" she said. He laughed, "Yes, some people call it that, but we prefer to call it The Cow Pie with Great Gummy Bears, or CPGGB for short."
The farmer talked about CPGGB for a while and she politely listened. He focused mainly on the gummy bears, but also about how the strands from the half digested grass gave the gummy bears a place in the pie, and how going through the cows digestive system really improved the gummy bears. When he was winding down she said, "Well, if you want a gummy bear why don't you just get a fresh gummy bear?" "Gummy bears aren't truly gummy bears unless they are part of CPGGB. Like I said, the location in the pie and the cow's digestive juice, and even the covering of crap are vital," he responded.
They had finished dinner and she got up to take a closer look at CPGGB. As she walked she asked the farmer about the fresh piles of dung she saw in the field. He smiled and told her that those piles are still moist so they are still maleable; how could those have the right gummy bear locations? She pointed out that his cow pie must have once been moist, but he just mumbled something about how special their pie was. "What about the other hardened gummy bear cow pie's?" she asked. "Oh, those just aren't the same. Some of them have some really good gummy bears, and many even have similar shape and structure, but none are quite right. Just CPGGB."
She got a couple feet away, but couldn't get any closer; it was placed in such a way that you couldn't get a really close look. From where she was she could see what looked like a hole where a gummy bear had been removed. She asked about it and the farmer responded that there was never a gummy bear there. Later, the farmer's wife told her that it actually was there, but it was just because the farmer couldn't handle the true form of CPGGB until later; he was a man of that time.
The farmers gave her a room and she went to bed for the night. As she laid there she could hear them talking in the living room. The farmer sighed and said to his wife, "You know, if I weren't so attached to CPGGB I really wouldn't like crap covered gummy bears. Sometimes that poo smell is just so strong."