Post by Wetdog on Mar 5, 2008 22:30:28 GMT 1
The Bakers
Once there were two bakers who decided to make cakes. The first baker was lazy and greedy, he wanted to get rich and retire in luxury and never have to work again. The second baker took great pride in his work. He loved people, and his greatest joy in life was seeing people become happy when they tasted the results of his hard work.
So, they both began to assemble the ingredients for their cakes. They went to the Miller to buy flour. The Miller showed them the flour he had for sale. The first baker asked the price, and when the Miller told him, he said, “That is WAY too expensive, I won’t be able to make any profit and I need to make a very high profit so I can buy myself fine things.” So, as he was leaving, he saw workmen shoveling flour in wagons out the back of the mill. He asked the Miller what they were doing. The Miller told him that the flour had worms in it, it was not fit to be eaten--so the workmen were hauling it away to feed to pigs. The first baker said, “Well, if it is good enough for pigs, it is good enough for my customers--I’ll sift out the worms and the stupid people won’t know the difference, have them deliver it to my bakery, but be sure to come to the back door, so no one sees them.” The second baker bought the best flour the Miller had for sale. The Miller said, “How will you make a profit? This is expensive flour.” The second baker said, “My profit is seeing the joy and happiness my cakes bring people. I bake cakes to make people happy.”
And so it went with the other ingredients, the first baker choosing whatever he could find that was cheapest or free. The second baker taking great time and care to seek the finest ingredients.
Then they went to work. The first baker threw everything together in a hurry, without regard for measuring, or properly heating his oven, or mixing the batter as much as the recipe called for. He only wanted to get finished quickly and leave, after all, he had his own comfort to think of. The second baker labored far into the night. He took great care with his measurements, heating his oven and mixing, When he finally finished, he was very tired, but his cakes were fit for a King.
The next day both of the bakers took their cakes to the market. They both sold their cakes for $2. The people who bought the cakes from the second baker were delighted with them. They came back for more. But when the people who had bought the cakes from the greedy baker tasted them, they demanded their money back. So the first baker said to himself “I’ve paid so little and put so little work into these that I can still get rich if I only charge $1, so I’ll do that.” The second baker couldn’t make the price that low. He’d spent too much on using good ingredients and hard work. Even so, the first bakers cakes tasted so bad, people still wouldn’t buy them. Then came a merchant who saw an opportunity. He bought the cakes the first baker had left for $.10 each, put some fancy icing on them and sold them for $1. They looked pretty--he told people that the baker with the expensive cakes was only trying to get rich off of them (the merchant knew nothing of baking, but he was a good salesman, with a voice as soothing as silk and a mind as crafty as a fox). He quickly sold the cakes, and hurriedly went his way before anyone had a chance to taste them. When they had tasted them, the people were angry, but it was too late, the merchant had fled.
If you want to breed puppies, what sort of breeder do you want to be. Do you want to breed like the first baker made his cakes? (be a puppy mill with no concern for the value of what goes into your puppies or the happiness of the puppies or people who get them)
Do you want to be like the merchant? Just make money no matter who it hurts--live a life of greed and self interest?
Or, would you be like the second baker, do the very best you can to share happiness and joy of what you love with others?
Copyright 2006, Fred Linn
Once there were two bakers who decided to make cakes. The first baker was lazy and greedy, he wanted to get rich and retire in luxury and never have to work again. The second baker took great pride in his work. He loved people, and his greatest joy in life was seeing people become happy when they tasted the results of his hard work.
So, they both began to assemble the ingredients for their cakes. They went to the Miller to buy flour. The Miller showed them the flour he had for sale. The first baker asked the price, and when the Miller told him, he said, “That is WAY too expensive, I won’t be able to make any profit and I need to make a very high profit so I can buy myself fine things.” So, as he was leaving, he saw workmen shoveling flour in wagons out the back of the mill. He asked the Miller what they were doing. The Miller told him that the flour had worms in it, it was not fit to be eaten--so the workmen were hauling it away to feed to pigs. The first baker said, “Well, if it is good enough for pigs, it is good enough for my customers--I’ll sift out the worms and the stupid people won’t know the difference, have them deliver it to my bakery, but be sure to come to the back door, so no one sees them.” The second baker bought the best flour the Miller had for sale. The Miller said, “How will you make a profit? This is expensive flour.” The second baker said, “My profit is seeing the joy and happiness my cakes bring people. I bake cakes to make people happy.”
And so it went with the other ingredients, the first baker choosing whatever he could find that was cheapest or free. The second baker taking great time and care to seek the finest ingredients.
Then they went to work. The first baker threw everything together in a hurry, without regard for measuring, or properly heating his oven, or mixing the batter as much as the recipe called for. He only wanted to get finished quickly and leave, after all, he had his own comfort to think of. The second baker labored far into the night. He took great care with his measurements, heating his oven and mixing, When he finally finished, he was very tired, but his cakes were fit for a King.
The next day both of the bakers took their cakes to the market. They both sold their cakes for $2. The people who bought the cakes from the second baker were delighted with them. They came back for more. But when the people who had bought the cakes from the greedy baker tasted them, they demanded their money back. So the first baker said to himself “I’ve paid so little and put so little work into these that I can still get rich if I only charge $1, so I’ll do that.” The second baker couldn’t make the price that low. He’d spent too much on using good ingredients and hard work. Even so, the first bakers cakes tasted so bad, people still wouldn’t buy them. Then came a merchant who saw an opportunity. He bought the cakes the first baker had left for $.10 each, put some fancy icing on them and sold them for $1. They looked pretty--he told people that the baker with the expensive cakes was only trying to get rich off of them (the merchant knew nothing of baking, but he was a good salesman, with a voice as soothing as silk and a mind as crafty as a fox). He quickly sold the cakes, and hurriedly went his way before anyone had a chance to taste them. When they had tasted them, the people were angry, but it was too late, the merchant had fled.
If you want to breed puppies, what sort of breeder do you want to be. Do you want to breed like the first baker made his cakes? (be a puppy mill with no concern for the value of what goes into your puppies or the happiness of the puppies or people who get them)
Do you want to be like the merchant? Just make money no matter who it hurts--live a life of greed and self interest?
Or, would you be like the second baker, do the very best you can to share happiness and joy of what you love with others?
Copyright 2006, Fred Linn
