The Mule
An old mule fell into a farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule braying and after carefully assessing the situation, the farmer
sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his
neighbors together and told them what had happened . . . and enlisted them to help haul dirt tobury to poor old mule in the well and put
him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical!! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back... a thought
struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back . . .He Should Shake It Off and Step Up!
This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up . . .shake it off andstep up . . . shake it off and step up . . .!" he repeated to
encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, ordistressing the situation seemed the old mule fought panic and just keep right
on - Shaking It Off and Stepping Up!
It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! Whatseemed like it would
bury him actually blessed him . . . all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
That's umpiring! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or
self-pity . . . the adversities that come along to bury us, usually have within them the potential to benefit us and make
us better!
Once a king had a great highway built for the members of his kingdom. After it was completed, but before it opened to the public, the
king decided to have a contest. He invited as many as desired toparticipate. Their challenge was to see who could travel the highway best.
On the day of the contest the people came. Some of them had fine chariots, some had fine clothing, fine hairdos or great food. Some
young men came in their track clothes and ran along the highway. People traveled the highway all day, but each one, when he arrived at
the endcomplained to the king that there was a large pile of rocks and debris left on the road in one spot, and this got in their way and
hindered their travel.
At the end of the day, a lone traveler crossed the finish line and wearily walkedover to the king. He was tired and dirty, but he addressed the king with great respect and handed him a bag of gold. He explained, "I stopped along the way to clear away a pile of rocks and debris
that was blocking the road. This bag ofgold was under it all, and I want to return it to its rightful owner." The king replied, "You are the
rightful owner."The traveler replied, "Oh no, this is not mine. I've never known such money." "Oh yes," said the king, "You've earned
this gold, for you won my contest. He who travels the road best is he who makes the road smoother for those who will follow."
A group of frogs was traveling through the woods and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit and
watched as the imprisoned frogs tried to jump out. The frogs on top could see there was no way out and they started yelling at the frogs
to give up. "The pit is too deep. You're as good as dead," the chorus said. When the trapped frogs kept trying, the crowd yelled louder,
"Give up. You're as good as dead." After a while one of the exhausted frogs took heed at what the others were saying, and he fell down
and died.
But the second frog kept jumping as hard as she could despite the hopelessness of those that kept yelling at her to accept the inevitable
and just die. Finally, with one valiant jump she made it out of the pit. You see, this frog was deaf and unable to hear what the others
were saying. She thought they were encouraging her the entire time. And that made all the difference.