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The Boy and The Filberts

A Boy put his hand into a pitcher full of Filberts and grasped as many as he could. When he tried to withdraw his hand he could not. A bystander saw his problem and advised him to be satisfied with a smaller handful in order to be able to withdraw his hand.

Townsend version

A Boy put his hand into a pitcher full of filberts. He grasped as many as he could possibly hold, but when he tried to pull out his hand, he was prevented from doing so by the neck of the pitcher. Unwilling to lose his filberts, and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and bitterly lamented his disappointment. A bystander said to him, "Be satisfied with half the quantity, and you will readily draw out your hand."

Moral

Do not attempt too much at once.

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