Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Bringing about change in a group of people is perhaps the most difficult task anyone can undertake. An old fable sheds light on one technique for encouraging change.

I wish I knew the origin of this little fable. I hope that I relay it well enough. Anyways, here goes:

Once upon a time, a man wandered into a strange land. Hence, he became “the stranger” to those who lived in the land.

The inhabitants of the land befriended the stranger – they provided him with food, shelter, and the necessities of life plus a few of the luxuries. Since they were kind to the stranger, they told him to stay away from one field that was inhabited by monsters. They were earnest in their warnings.

The stranger’s curiosity was too powerful for him. One day, while alone, he wandered into the field to see what monsters were there. He was surprised to find that the “monsters” were watermelons. He didn’t understand how the people had decided that the watermelons were monsters, but he would show the people that they had nothing to fear from the monsters (a.k.a. watermelons).

The stranger cut the vine of a large watermelon, carried the watermelon from the field into a village of the people, and ate the watermelon to demonstrate how harmless it was.

The people were terrified. This stranger was a bigger monster than the monsters that lived in the field. In horror, they killed the stranger.

Years later, another man wandered into the same strange land. Hence, he became “the stranger” to those who lived in the land.

The inhabitants of the land befriended this stranger as well. They provided him with food, shelter, and the necessities of life plus a few of the luxuries. Since they were kind to the stranger, they told him to stay away from the one field that was inhabited by monsters. They were earnest in their warnings.

This stranger’s curiosity also was too powerful for him. One day, while along, he wandered into the field to see what monsters were there. He was surprised to find that the “monsters” were watermelons. He didn’t understand how the people had decided that the watermelons were monsters.

He went back to the village where the people let him live. Each day he would talk to the people about the monsters. He agreed that the monsters were indeed fearsome. He learned why the people decided that the watermelons were monsters. Weeks passed with continuing talk about the monsters.

In time, this stranger convinced the people that the monsters were very similar to large melons that people in his land far away grew and ate. He built the courage of the people to the point where they went into the field and took a watermelon back to their village. After watching the watermelon for many days, they decided it was safe to eat it.

Now the people of this land grow their own watermelons and enjoy eating them.

This story is not for people who fear watermelons as if the melons were monsters.

This story is for us strangers who wander into a land and find people who are afraid of watermelons.