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If you put a buzzard in
a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open
at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will
be an absolute
prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from
the
ground with a run of ten or twelve feet. Without space to run, as
is his
habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner
for
life in a small jail with no top.
The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkably nimble
creature
in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is
placed on the
floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about
helplessly and, no
doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from
which it can throw
itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.
A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it
dies,
unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the
top,
but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near
the
bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely
destroys itself.
In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat,
and the bee.
They are struggling about with all their problems and
frustrations, not
realizing that the answer is right there "above" them.
Author unknown |