The Pastor's Ass
I came across this great story with a terrific moral. Enjoy!
A Pastor entered his donkey in a race, and it won. The Pastor was so pleased with the donkey that he entered it in the race again and it won again. Upon winning the local paper read: PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT.
The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity that he ordered the Pastor not to enter the donkey in another race. The next day the local paper headline read: BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS.
This was too much for the Bishop so he ordered the Pastor to get rid of the donkey. The Pastor decided to give it to a nun in a nearby convent. The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day: NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN.
The Bishop was beside himself. He informed the nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey, so she sold it to a farm for $10. The next day the paper read: NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10
The Bishop fainted and when he came to he ordered the nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild. The next day the headlines read: NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE.
The paper ran the Bishop’s obituary the following week.
Moral? Being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery and even shorten your life. So be yourself and enjoy life. Stop worrying about everyone else's ass and just cover your own. You'll be a lot happier and live longer!
My book Leading Narratives is filled with similar stories. Here’s a link if you’re interested.