After setting up the stall, Maple and Jasmine sat down on the stools behind the stall. Jasmine was so exhausted that she almost fell off the stool.
Maple: You are not a strong tiger. You are a weak kitten.
Jasmine while breathing heavily said: I am not weak!!!! I am just out of breath because I am a little tired today. Afterall, I did gym in the morning followed by 35 laps of swimming followed by a long long boring interview and riding a bike carrying 100 pound sloth. And then working my butt off for this competition. You better compensate me well.
Maple mumbled: excuses...excuses
Jasmine: huh..What! Did! You! Say! You little brat!!!
Maple: oopsies... nothing....nothing. calm down. Will just sell these tangyauns quickly and then will eat delicious food.
Jasmine: ok
After almost 20 mins. they had barely sold 20 tangyauns. Jasmine was getting impatient and said, "How long will it take to sell all these? I will probably die at this rate".
Maple: Let me tell you a story in order to pass time until the rush hour at the festival. We will definitely sell all tangyauns and then enjoy frontseat fireworks as a reward for our hardwork.
Jasmine: You better not bore me to sleep.
Maple: alright...alright...I am not that bad of a storyteller. Let's begin now
Maple: Once upon a time, there were two friends. One of them was a fox while the other was crane. The fox, Fad, was an extrovert, and spent a lot of time partying. On the other hand, crane--Chris--was an introvert that loved to read books and spend time in solitude. One day, Chris was spending his time under a tree staring at the lake. He was in deep contemplation. His dear friend Fad hadn't showed up for almost a month to meet him. He probably knew the reason because he rejected his request about attending a party. He had told his friend that he feels uncomfortable around a bunch of other animals. But, his friend just got angry and left huffing and puffing. Since that day, he never showed up again. Chris, feeling dejected, made his mind to go to the party his friend had invited him to. When he reached the party, he saw Fad bullying a member of grus species. Although Chris himself was a Balearica, he shared a common ancestry with the grus species. His heart ached at the ruthless punches and kicks Fad was delivering to the member of grus species. He wanted to step in to stop, but the thought of upsetting Fad and losing his friend forever, made him stop in his tracks and suppress his natural kind nature. Instead he walked forward in Fad's direction and greeted him politely.
Chris: Hey Fad! How are you?
Fad looked up, momentarily stopping to hit the grus member: Hey Hey Chris. So nice to see you here (Fad greeted his best friend excitedly while blood dripped from his paws).
Fad while wiping his bloody paws on the grus member's fur said: Don't mind this mess. Come, I will show you around the party.
Fad put his wipped paws on Chris's shoulder and led him inside the party. Fad introduced him to many of his other friends, types of different foods and drinks, and other types of unique paintings hanged at different hallways. He was very enthusiastic about introducing these unique things to his friend, Chris. Nevertheless, Chris had this nagging feeling of not being able to stop Fad when he was hitting someone. He felt chills in his heart. However, he chose to ignore them. Then he returned home and went to sleep with an anxious mind.
Days passed since the event occurred. After a month, report came that Pablo Pan Grus died in the hospital after brutally being beaten. The perpetrator, Fad Flap Faxaria, got a life imprisonment sentence. Chris was shocked and didn't know what to do. His heart was pounding with emotions such as guilt, anxiety, sorrow, anger, self-reproach. Day after day, he was drowning into tsunami of emotions. His depression caused him to die after 2 months since the report came in.
THE END
Maple: How did you like the story?
Jasmine: Are you trying to kill me from depression? How can you kill everyone in your story?
Maple: Don't focus on their deaths. Focus on what did you learn from the outstanding story?
Jasmine: That if you ever become a part or a character in Miss Sloth's story, your destiny is to die. So, better watch out before sloth witch kills you.
Maple: That is not funny young lady. Although, characters died in my story, they gave us a valuable lesson that would save many more in the future.
Jasmine: Such as??
Maple: Being yourself may put you in a tough position but it might save someone's life. If Chris had stepped in to stop his friend, then Fad wouldn't have beaten the Grus member so badly that he died in the hospital. Chris could have also prevented his best friend from life imprisonment. He could have changed the fate of 2 lives with just being himself.
Maple: Similary, you should stop pretending to be a vain person and insulting people who come for your help. I understand you wanted to teach that young man to be hard-working, but you should have used a different approach. You should have guided him yourself instead of relying on someone else, such as me. Imagine if I was a bad person, and had took your money and flee? What would you have done anyway?
Jasmine: But you didn't, did you?
Maple: The point is you help change that young man's life. But, if I hadn't cleared your name, rumors would have befallen you as a disgusting person who insults people who are lower than you. This would prompt future people in need to not come to you for help when going through desperate situations. This would in turn have not only destroyed the lives of those people but also you. Because you would have a guilty conscious for not being able to help when you could have.
Jasmine: I know...but I don't care about what people think about me.
Maple: I am just saying you should be true to yourself. If you want to be a kind person then go be kind, and if you don't want to help someone, then don't pretend to help them. Because they would get someone else to help them who are actually truly willing to help them.
Jasmine: Thank you for thinking so much about me. Honestly, no one has ever cared about me since childhood. My mom died in childbirth. My father remarried another woman. She is a complete b****. She would always pretend to be nice infront of my father, and behind his back, she would make me a laughing stock infront of other business families. To escape her and the gossipy old ladies I began to act like a vain and tempered person, this way I can atleast steer clear of them. They would be scared to approach me because I would insult them. I created this barrier to protect myself from harm.
Maple: Ohh...I see. You are not an inherently bad person. You just chose to act a certain way to protect yourself.
Jasmine: I am glad you understand me. Others just see me as a nuisance.
Maple: would you like to be my friend? Can we exchange wechat?
Jasmine: What! My friend! Hmm... you are not qualified.
Jasmine replied in a haughty tone. But, at the same time she pulled her phone from her pocket and gave Maple a chance to scan her QR code.
Maple was flabbergasted and didn't know what to reply. She just smiled covertly.