A Fable: The Farmer and the Rock

Once upon a time there was a farmer who farmed a field containing a large rock.  The rock was close to the middle of the field and stood proudly for all to see, much like a iceberg in the sea.  The rock was a irritant to the farmer.  All his life he had plowed and planted around the rock.  It was always in the way, took up room, and was good for nothing.  The rock seemed to the farmer to be a constant reminder of what the farmer was not.

The farmer tried moving the rock.  It would not budge.  He tried breaking up the rock with a hammer, but it was quite large.  Year afer year the farmer battled the rock.  The rock stood. 

Years passed and the farmer finally got old and died.  But just before he died the farmer had a brilliant idea.  And so he ... (you fill in the blank.) 

As one might guess, the rock and the farmer became famous in all the land. Many people come from far away just to look at the rock and consider their own lives.  The end.

Questions to Ponder

1. How did the rock remind the farmer of his own life?
2. Were there other rocks in the same field? In other fields?
3. What did the farmers impending death have to do with his new idea?
4. Have you ever traveled to see a rock?
5 . Do you have a rock in your field?  What are you doing about it?