One Carrot too many
There was once a farmer who grew carrots. For acres and acres all you could see were carrot stems sticking out of the ground. This wasn’t your normal farmer, no, this farmer was the best carrot farmer ever. If you think all carrots taste the same, you just haven’t tasted this farmer’s carrots. People and companies would come from miles around to buy this farmer’s carrots.
At the edge of the farmer’s field was a thick forest. In the winter, when it wasn’t carrot season, the farmer would hunt in the woods for wild game. He and his family would always eat the game he would kill. His family always looked forward to this time of year and the fresh meat he would bring home.
It was a beautiful spring day. The carrots were just starting to get a little size on them. Their bright green stems covered the horizon. It all caught the notice of a little rabbit who happened to hop to the forest’s edge. The little rabbit got up on its two hind legs to survey the landscape. Just then, a soft breeze drifted the aroma of the carrots in his direction. “What a delightful smell,” he thought. So the little rabbit hopped a few rows into the field. “Why, I must see where this wonderful scent is coming from,” he said. He took his little tiny paws and started digging into the soil. Here he found the bright orange treasure that caught his nose’s attention. “Why, I must taste it, for something that smells this good must taste so good, too,” he said. The little rabbit had never tasted anything so go in all his life.
Fearing the farmer might notice his robbery, the rabbit decided to head back to his little hole that was deep into the woods. This little burrow was what he called home. With just one carrot missing the farmer didn’t even notice it was gone.
The next day the little rabbit was so proud the farmer didn’t notice his accomplishment. He hopped back into the field and dug up two more carrots and ate them. Still the farmer didn’t notice the missing carrots. Suspecting the farmer would never be smart enough to figure him out, the carrot bandit increased his take more and more each day.
The farmer eventually began to notice a decrease in carrot production on that side of the field. The farmer, who had been around for many years, immediately realized he had a rabbit problem. The farmer decided to let one of his dogs stay out on that side of the field to act as a patrol. That day the rabbit stood at the edge of the field and he noticed the dog, but the rabbit was determined to get another one of those carrots. The rabbit just had to come up with a plan.
He was quite the horseman. He was even called a horse whisperer. A horse whisperer is someone who seems to have the same train of thought as the horse itself. Because of this connection, the horseman can easily train the horse without being cruel to the horse. The horse just wants to please the horseman or horse whisperer.
It is said that during one battle, during the Mexican War, the general in charge needed to have a message delivered to another regiment. Our horseman volunteered. The path was covered with enemy fire. He rode on the horse’s side opposite the bullets’ direction and reached the regiment with the message.
After the Mexican War our horseman returned to civilian life. In civilian life he might have been what you call a failure. He failed in one business venture after another. His father tried to help him, but that effort didn’t work so well either. Lucky for him, not for us, another war was on our horizon. He was asked to do recruitment duty. He really wanted to get back on the battlefield. He used some of his contacts and was able to get back in with the rank of Colonel.
Nabal was a very rich man who seemed to have it all going for him. If you looked across the fields, you could see the land covered with his sheep and goats. In fact, there were so many of them that you couldn’t see them all if you stood in one spot. There were thousands of them. There are some people who really appreciate everything they have. They really feel blessed. Nabal wasn’t one of them. He was really mean and quite the brute. Despite his lack of charm, he married a very beautiful and intelligent woman. His wife’s name was Abigail.
Some of Nabal’s sheep were out near an area where it would be very easy for someone to steal them. The land was covered with runaways and outlaws. There was one group of runaways who was very close to area where Nabal’s sheep and goats were grazing. Instead of taking these animals for their own benefit, they actually looked out for and watched over the sheep to make sure nothing happened to them.
Our little rabbit decided to wait until the dog was taking a nap before he headed out into the field. The rabbit dug up quite a few carrots and was munching on them when he happened to look up and notice that the dog was starting to wake up. After a few more crunches the dog noticed the little rabbit and charged after him. The rabbit darted off, hopping and weaving toward the woods. As the dog got closer and closer the little rabbit darted into his little hole and the dog was unable to catch him.
Every day the little rabbit got braver and braver. The rabbit ate more and more carrots. Each day the dog tried harder and harder to catch the rabbit. Each chase always ended the same way: the rabbit, seemingly at the last minute, darting into his little hole. The poor little dog was getting quite frustrated.
Our horseman finally had his chance at fame. The horseman asked his commander, Henry Halleck, if he could take some soldiers and capture Fort Henry. Halleck said he could team up with Navy Flag Officer Andrew Foote and try to take the fort. Their effort was a success. The President was calling for his commanders to be more aggressive. The President’s message got the horseman’s attention and without asking his commander Halleck’s, permission, he also attacked another fort, Fort Donelson. When the enemy offered to negotiate an agreement of surrender, the horseman said he would accept nothing less than an unconditional surrender. This caught the President’s attention and the President made our horseman the commander of the whole army.
The leader of the runaways, who protected the sheep and goats, sent some of his men to Nabal at sheep shearing time to ask Nabal to let them have some food for their efforts. Sheep shearing time would have been the time of great profit for Nabal. The leader thought it was the least Nabal could do since they never asked for anything for the protection they provided. Nabal refused, stating that he didn’t even know these strangers and he had not asked for their help. This really upset the runaways’ leader.
David, the leader of the runaways, then ordered his men to gather their swords because they were going to slay the ungrateful brute. Abigail understood the huge mistake her husband was making. She went to work quickly in the kitchen to prepare lots of food. She also had her servants load the donkeys with other food. She met David and offered him all this food for him and his men. David would forgive Nabal and let him live, even though Nabal had no idea of the danger he was under or that his wife had just saved his life.
Abigail returned home to find her husband Nabal in the middle of a fine feast and he was very drunk. She decided not to tell him about her encounter with David until the morning. The next morning she told Nabal that she had given David and his men the food she had prepared and David decided to spare his life. Nabal immediately had a heart attack and fell into a coma. Ten days later Nabal died. David was glad to hear of Nabal’s death. He then sent word asking Abigail to become his wife. She accepted.
Our little bunny was gaining quite a bit of confidence. He never failed to get his fill of carrots and he never failed to outrun the dog. Day in and day out he would taunt the dog. Every day the dog became more and more frustrated. Then, one day, it happened. The rabbit ate some more of the farmer’s carrots. The dog gave chase. The rabbit neared his little hole. The rabbit went to jump into the hole and the strangest thing happened. He didn’t fit. He got stuck. I guess he must have eaten one too many carrots. You might say this is the end of our rabbit’s tale.
Our horseman, Ulysses S. “Unconditional Surrender” Grant, was asked by President Lincoln to lead the Union forces in the Civil War. Lincoln had been through several generals and the Union’s efforts and losses deeply frustrated him. The Union’s fortunes changed once Grant took charge. His efforts eventually led to the Confederate’s general, Robert E. Lee’s, surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.
The four year old Civil War was now over. Between the soldiers and the civilians, there were over 700,000 people that died. The eleven states that left the Union to form the Confederacy returned to the Union. The Union was now one country again. Although not all were happy with the results, almost everyone was glad the war was finally over.
General Grant loved a good cigar. In the Battle of the Wilderness, it is said that Grant had twenty cigars stored in his uniform that day. When the Civil War ended, Grant was celebrated as a great hero. Everyone wanted to thank him. The best way people knew how to express their thankfulness was to give him cigars. He enjoyed puffing most of them, but he received so many that he often had to give some of them away.
When Grant returned to civilian life, his business style failures returned with him. He would become President and when he left the Presidency he was actually broke. It was discovered that he had throat cancer. Most people attribute the cancer to all the cigars he smoked. Knowing he was dying, Grant decided to write his memoirs so his wife would have some funds to live on after he died. Less than a week after he finished writing the memoirs, our famous horseman passed away.
We live in a country in which we are deeply blessed. Sometimes we feel that excess is a right. We aren’t satisfied with just a little, we want more. We come to think we deserve one more carrot, one more sheep, one more cigar, or whatever our pleasure is. There is a word for this and it is called greed. Greed is very unattractive to others and to God. When we are not grateful for the blessings we have, we miss the joy of the moments and the possessions we do have because we are wasting so much energy trying to acquire more.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Thank You with all Your blessings. Forgive me for all those times I forget to be thankful for what I have and I am more focused on what I don’t have. Amen.
