Once upon a time, there was a little pixie. The little pixie would wander into the forest every day to gather food and herbs for her family. On her daily walkabout, she encountered many creatures, and she was always friendly with them.

Some of them, however, happened to be mosquitos. They liked the little pixie’s joyful company, but because they were mosquitos, they did what mosquitos do: they landed on the little pixie and bit her, for their  sustenance.

Over time, the little pixie grew weaker and weaker, while the demands upon her time (and blood supply ) grew stronger.

Soon, she grew so weak, she could no longer go into the forest to gather food and herbs for her family.

She fell asleep. She slept for a long, long time.

When she awoke, she felt renewed. She felt energetic (and hungry enough to eat a whole cow). She felt she could take on the World, just like she used to.

She got up. She cooked breakfast for her family out of what was left in her cupboard. Then she went back into the forest for the first time in a long time.

She gathered.

After a while, she realized the mosquitos weren’t biting her as before. They were landing and swarming her as usual, but they no longer drew blood.

She asked them ‘Why do you not feed? Are you not hungry?’

The mosquitos answered: ‘In your absence, we were forced to find other sources to supply our needs. We had come to rely so much on you because you let us take it from you, willingly, without our ever having to struggle for it, or risk being swatted. We realized that the demands we were putting upon you were making you sick.’

‘We lost our food. More importantly, we lost your joyful company. We could find our food elsewhere, but we could never replace your company. That’s when we decided to stop biting you.’

Ever since, Pixies and mosquitos have coexisted in perfect harmony. On occasion, pixies allow their mosquitos to ‘bite,’ only now, they risked getting swatted if they grew bothersome.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY:

It is better to be a pixie who swats, than a mosquito that sucks.[ It is even better to be neither; to simply give and receive without restraint, to look out for one another, and to never take from others that which you can achieve for yourself, with only just a little effort. ?]