Fable and moral. The milkmaid's tale (not the maid)

Hello freewriters!

And this is not about a fictional story, nor about a review of a tv series, you know one about a tale of a maid... it is a simple reflection that comes from an old poem fable by Félix María de Samaniego, like Aesop's fables and that I have known since I was a child. This is usually counted as a moral of prudence and having our feet on the ground, it can even be about the frustration that can occur at any time in our lives.

Any day the same thing can happen to us as what happened to the milkmaid in the fable.

The Milkmaid's Tale

A young milkmaid carried the pitcher with the milk to the market, while she was very happy thinking about that delicious milk that she had obtained, she was already planning what she was going to do.
First sell it and thus buy eggs, from which many chickens would hatch, then she would have hens and sell them for a pig that she would raise so that it would fatten and sell it too, then buying a cow, and thus have more to sell.
Suddenly distracted by her dreams and her future plans, she stumbled, the pitcher fell and broke, and thus the milk, the eggs, the chickens, the hens, the pig, the cow and everything disappeared...

Have you heard this fable before?

Image source: Pexels.com (by Cottonbro Studio)

It is clear that sometimes we too are like that young milkmaid, innocent and full of illusion, before any good news we begin to plan because our mind starts working, and because it is good to dream big.

But sometimes we anticipate, we go crazy and we take everything for granted, everything for granted, there is also a saying that makes it clear: "do not sell the bear's skin before hunting it".

You can dream and be positive, visualize your success but without going to the clouds completely, because as it is above it is below, and we also continue below, so your feet must be on the ground, in reality. Don't get carried away by ambition either. All this does not mean being negative, but prudent and going step by step, with security and confidence, yes, but without distractions or fatuous elements that are of no use to us.

But sometimes we cannot remedy it, perhaps because we need something bigger than ourselves to cling to, a hope that overwhelms us, precisely that makes reality different from what it is now, and in that evasion we can lose our way and trip on. There appears frustration, regret and guilt. The "what if..." and we cannot go back, so let's learn from what we have experienced, learn from the milkmaid or remember her in those effusive moments on the way to succeed and enrich ourselves in the market.

Because many things can happen, so let us keep all our strength in what will be the best, of course, but ensuring each step as much as possible, and if it cannot be done, there is no other option than to learn from those mistakes with philosophy, trying not to stumble again to that stone on the road, and being vigilant because others may appear.

We can keep looking forward because there is always a way for us, we will find it, and we will go with a smile and making many plans but always vigilant.

We have to dream hard but with your eyes wide open.

Bonus Track: The original poem (source in Spanish here)

La Lechera
Llevaba en la cabeza
una Lechera el cántaro al mercado
con aquella presteza,
aquel aire sencillo, aquel agrado,
que va diciendo a todo el que lo advierte
«¡Yo sí que estoy contenta con mi suerte!»

Porque no apetecía
más compañía que su pensamiento,
que alegre la ofrecía
inocentes ideas de contento,
marchaba sola la feliz Lechera,
y decía entre sí de esta manera:

«Esta leche vendida,
en limpio me dará tanto dinero,
y con esta partida
un canasto de huevos comprar quiero,
para sacar cien pollos, que al estío
me rodeen cantando el pío, pío.

Del importe logrado
de tanto pollo mercaré un cochino;
con bellota, salvado,
berza, castaña engordará sin tino,
tanto, que puede ser que yo consiga
ver cómo se le arrastra la barriga.

Llevarelo al mercado,
sacaré de él sin duda buen dinero;
compraré de contado
una robusta vaca y un ternero,
que salte y corra toda la campaña,
hasta el monte cercano a la cabaña.»

Con este pensamiento
enajenada, brinca de manera
que a su salto violento
el cántaro cayó. ¡Pobre Lechera!
¡Qué compasión! Adiós leche, dinero,
huevos, pollos, lechón, vaca y ternero.

¡Oh loca fantasía!
¡Qué palacios fabricas en el viento!
Modera tu alegría,
no sea que saltando de contento,
al contemplar dichosa tu mudanza,
quiebre su cantarillo la esperanza.

No seas ambiciosa
de mejor o más próspera fortuna,
que vivirás ansiosa
sin que pueda saciarte cosa alguna.
No anheles impaciente el bien futuro;
mira que ni el presente está seguro.

Thanks for reading! Have a nice and motivating day.

The text is totally mine, by ©Duvinca
and the photo is from Pexels.com and the poem is from https://poemas.uned.es/

I'M ALSO HERE:
Noise App / Read.cash / Publish0x / Odysee