This is the story that i have read in today's newspaper under speaking tree, written by Sudhamahi Regunathan. This story is told the Tainos, the indigenous people of Puerto Rico Island to their children showing them the way to good life.
I am mentioning here the three lessons of good life, being highlighted in this story.
1. Your size doesn't matter, your voice and words are more important. Means, it doesn't matter whether you are rich or poor, you are having special powers or not, what matters is that people should respect your words, and you should speak good. Good speech is always appreciated by everyone.
2. Teamwork always wins. Teamwork can defeat an opponent of any size.
3. Whatever said and done, fairplay should be the rule defining your life. You should not do anything which is against your own personal ethics and values. You should lead a life which is an example to others, and you should follow the rules, which can be all or any combination of natural laws, universal laws & your own values.
The story goes like this......The animals had taken to easy life and were all becoming fat. This became a cause for concern because they could not move about at all. Life came to a standstill. Queen Iguaca, the parrot that ruled the forest with care, was worried. No progress was made because of the sheer laziness of her jungle mates. And so, the Tainos would tell their children, never be lazy. It will take you nowhere.
Queen Iguaca wondered whom to consult. She spoke with the agile and evermoving wind who looked in amazement at the bloated condition of the animals, some of which were special to Puerto Rico: the lizard was so huge that it could no longer climb trees, a species of snake was so fat that it barely slithered, the giant toad that was as big as a bull, and a bull that was worried to see a toad catching up and so ate more – and the coqui. The coqui is a small frog which is different from others of its species, not only because of its very small size but also because it does not have webbed feet.
The queen announced a race with an attractive award for the winner, to motivate the animals to exercise and return to shape. The animals were excited. Each dreamt of getting the award. The coqui, however, was small anyway and it found it had no chance of winning against the other larger animals. But the coqui needed a voice desperately. To be small-sized and without a voice is a curse… another lesson to be remembered, said the grandparent Taino. They had to overcome it.
The community of coquis decided to work together, for they felt that it was only in teamwork that success be achieved. A senior coqui suggested a plan of action. So good was the plan that they won! But there was a problem – that other contestants pointed out. It was not entirely fair play. As in a relay race, the coquis had positioned themselves at different points so that each time one of the bigger animals shoved them out of the race, another stepped in. That’s how they had won.
The queen considered the case and announced the verdict. The coquis were the winners because they had worked together as a team, strategised and won. And so they would be given a voice. But since there was an element of unfair play, they would get their voice only after sunset and till sunrise.
Even today the coquis sing every night in Puerto Rico. They jump up on to the branches of trees at dusk and call: “Co-kee, co-kee” and that’s how they got their name. They make such a loud but very musical noise that one would think an amplifier had been attached to their voice box. The coquis begin singing with the onset of dusk through the night till the first rays of the sun fall on the land. They remind everyone that team spirit is great but anything done unfairly never sees the light of day.
Today when the Tainos have been long gone and the Puerto Ricans have experienced different cultures with the coming of the Spanish, Africans, Chinese and Americans, the coqui, symbol of the island, still sings for them every night, with the same message: Be one and be fair.
