This is an original tale by yours truly, OmLaLa the Machiavellian. There are multiple TRP lessons within this parable and its message is open to your interpretation. I’ll leave it up to you, the RPer, to decide what this parable’s really about. Best of luck.

“Such is my Nature” by OmLaLa

Once upon a time, there was a female carpenter named Lily.

Lily's carpentry abilities had been past down to her by her mother. Her father and brothers were farmers and spend most of their days working out in the fields. Lily had recently completed her training and felt she could now build herself a home she could call her own.

So, when Lily became of age, Lily’s mother decided to send her off into the vast, unknown world to build an amazing and beautiful home for herself.

Lily quickly packed up her tools and left her mother's care in search of the perfect place to build such a home with the skills her mother had taught her.

During her long search, Lily came across a beautiful and plentiful field of Clay. The Clay was soft, formless and could easily be sculpted to support whatever requirements Lily's dream home may have. Lily saw much potential in the Clay.

So Lily spoke with the Clay, telling the Clay of her dreams and aspirations as a carpenter, of the extravagant home she’d set out to build, and asked the Clay if it would be willing to act as her home’s foundation.

“Of course you can build your extravagant home upon me!”exclaimed the Clay, “I am malleable and easy to shape. You can easily mold me to best suit the needs of your beautiful home!”

And the Clay was right. Lily easily formed and molded a wonderful foundation for her beautiful home. She was able to stack, shape and mold the Clay with little resistance.

The malleability of the Clay allowed Lily to add more and more extravagance and beauty to her dream home. The Clay happily reformed itself over and over as Lily’s plans became more and more complex and robust with every passing day.

Finally, Lily had built the most beautiful and magnificent home she or the Clay had ever seen. She reveled at the thought of living happily ever after in this magnificent home for the rest of her days. The Clay, possessing no shape or form of its own outside the home’s foundation, was pleased that its malleable nature had helped in the creation of something so beautiful.

And then the Earthquakes came.

It didn’t take much for Lily's home to crumble; under the smallest signs of stress, the Clay reverted back to its doughy, shapeless form because the Clay knew no other way to exist. Shapelessness was in its nature.

Lily’s beautiful home was gone in a matter of seconds.

“This was no fault of my own,” the Clay haughtily declared,“had the Earthquakes not come, you would still have your beautiful home.”

“I cannot live in constant fear of the Earthquakes” explained Lily. “I cannot rebuild my home after every Earthquake and I cannot build upon a foundation that’s so easily swain.”

Yet the Clay refused to give up its malleability. “Such is my nature.” replied the Clay.

And so, Lily left the beautiful and plentiful field of Clay in search of a more stable foundation.

After some more searching, Lily came across a bountiful and fertile field of Dirt. The Dirt was tough, rich with substance and could be used for more than her home’s foundation. Lily saw potential in the Dirt.

So Lily spoke with the Dirt, explaining what occurred with the Clay, told the Dirt of her dreams for a beautiful home and asked if the Dirt would become shapeless like the Clay.

“Nonsense!” declared the Dirt. “I would never falter so easily in the presence of the Earthquakes! Worry not! You’re much better off building your house upon me!”

Lily then asked the Dirt if she could make use of its rich and fertile nature for her crops and gardens.

“Of course, dear child! Of course you can plant your seeds here!” boomed the Dirt, confidently, “Plant whatever crops you wish! My fertility knows no bounds!”

Trusting in the confident words of the Dirt, Lily began building her beautiful home once more.

The Dirt was right, it wasn’t malleable and shapeless like the Clay. However, the Dirt’s lack of malleability made it difficult for Lily to mold with the same ease she had with the Clay.

Lily toiled and struggled and strained and pushed and shoveled the Dirt as best she could, but in the end the Dirt would not form into the perfect foundation her first extravagant home had required.

Lily was able to build a less extravagant –yet still beautiful- home upon the Dirt.

She was still happier with the Dirt, for she no longer felt the constant fear of the Earthquakes suddenly collapsing her new home. The Dirt was happy as well, for through little effort of its own, it now had a beautiful home built upon it.

Lily soon began to plant her crops and gardens and used the Dirt’s rich and fertile nature to nourish her seeds. The Dirt was compliant at first, but only for awhile. The Dirt did not want to continuously give up its rich and fertile soils for nothing in return.

“Water!” the Dirt arrogantly demanded. “If you are to use my fertility to plant your crops, I demand water!”

“You made no such demands before I built my home,” Lily explained, shocked by the Dirt’s abrupt demand. “I have brought only enough water myself. Had I know sooner, I would have brought some for you.”

“All Dirt requires water! Such is our nature!” scolded the Dirt,“Your father was a farmer. Surely he taught you that!”

Lily was displeased with the Dirt’s sudden and abrasive nature, but having already built her home, she hesitantly went off to fetch the Dirt some water.

This continued week after week and the Dirt’s thirst for water became more and more unquenchable. Lily became tired and aggravated, but at least she had a home that would hold firm when the Earthquakes eventually came.

And then the Earthquakes came.

The Dirt was able to hold firm to some degree, but Lily was forced to constantly maintain and repair the Dirt’s foundation with each passing tremor. And once the Earthquakes finally subsided and Lily's maintenance and repairs were complete, the Dirt would begin to angrily chant “Water, water, water!”once more.

After weeks trudging this exhaustive and repetitive process, Lily couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Enough!” Lily cried out one day, tossing the water aside. “I have to do all of the work while you just sit there and beg for water! You are too needy and demanding!”

“I need water. Such is my nature.” the Dirt half-heartedly replied.

“You can’t even provide a stable foundation without my help!”shouted the flustered Lily.

“You asked for me to be more firm and stable than the Clay. I have done this. If you require even more stability, I will require more labor and water from you. Such is my nature.”

Frustrated to the point of anger, Lily abruptly abandoned her home in the bountiful and fertile field of Dirt in search of a less demanding foundation.

Tired and jaded from her previous experiences, Lily came to a wondrous plateau of Stone. The Stone was solid, unwavering and firm. Lily saw potential in the Stone, but had now grown skeptical.

Lily approached the Stone.

“I require a strong foundation on which to build my beautiful home” she told the Stone. She then explained the extravagance of the home she’d planned to build on the Clay.

“I can provide you the strongest foundation possible and you will never fear the Earthquakes again," began the Stone, "but I will not alter myself for such unnecessary extravagance. Such is my nature.”

Lily was disappointed that her home’s beauty must be abandoned, but Lily valued her home’s stability overall other things. Lily agreed.

“I would like to utilize your rich and fertile nature without the need of constantly providing for you in return.” requested Lily. She then explained the crops and gardens she’d been given by the Dirt in exchange for water.

“I can provide you with no such luxuries” replied the Stone,“but I will require no such upkeep or commitment. I am the way you see me now and I will remain this way for decades, regardless of whether you build your home upon me or not. Such is my nature.”

Lily was again saddened that her crops and gardens would be abandoned, but she admired the self-sufficient nature of the Stone. Lily agreed.

“May I build my home upon you?” asked Lily, willing to sacrifice the extravagance, crops and gardens.

“It makes no difference to me,” yawned the Stone, “build wherever you’d like. I am indifferent and unaffected.”

So Lily built her home upon the Stone.

Her home was nowhere near as extravagant as the home she’d built upon the Clay, nor did she have the luxuries of crops and gardens she’d had with the Dirt, but the stability of her home and the Stone’s independent nature made her happiest of all.

And then the Earthquakes came.

Lily's home remained completely unaffected. Just as the Stone did not succumb itself to Lily, it did not succumb under the stress of the Earthquakes. Lily couldn’t feel the ground move beneath her feet. The Stone snored loudly through most of the tremors.

And Lily couldn’t have been more happy.

The Stone did as it pleased most of the time, but when the Earthquakes came, Lily knew her home was safe and steadfast. Lily could have left in search of another foundation at any time -maybe one that provided her more malleability or one with rich and fertile soil- but for now Lily chose to remain built upon the Stone.

The Stone wouldn’t have cared if she’d left. The Stone’s had many carpenters build their homes upon him; some staying longer than others. But the Stone required no sustenance from these carpenters and the Stone gave them a strong foundation through no effort from them or of its own. the Stone was just content existing.

Such is its nature.

THE END

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