The Moral Vision
Perseverance Pays
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PERSEVERANCE PAYS
Wakening up in the morning to the noisy
chirruping of the birds, the man noticed a broken
egg lying on the ground. It had obviously fallen
from a nest built by sparrows just under the ceiling
of his modest dwelling. Wearily he removed the
broken egg, then, noting with disgust the straws
which were eternally littering his floor, he stood up
on a piece of furniture, and swiped the nest out of
its niche. Then he spent quite some time and effort
cleaning up the whole place.
The very next day, he found more straws dirtying
his newly cleaned floor and, looking up, he saw that
the birds were again building their nest under his
roof. He felt he was going mad with their
chirruping and the perpetual mess they made, so he
destroyed the new nest before it was even half-
completed. That way he thought he could drive
them away forever.
But the tragedy of the devastated nest only spurred
the birds on to greater efforts, and showing great
daring, they worked faster then ever. They did not
