Once upon a time a fly crossed a vineyard where glorious grapes were basking in the sun. The fly was hungry, and the sight of juicy red grapes excited her. As she drew near them, she flew past a sweet smelling bottle hanging in the cool shadow of grape leaves. From the neck came a strong fragrance of honey and citrus flowers. The fly circled the bottle several times in excitement. Her tummy was gurgling. The scent made her giddy. This discovery was even better than she could ever have dreamt of. Exquisite! She had never experienced such a delightful scent.
“What a place to enjoy a small bite.” The fly landed on the rim of the bottle and looked to see what was inside. The scent was so strong that she could barely resist the temptation to join the dozen other flies already buzzing around patches of honey at the bottom of the bottle. They all looked so happy. Drunk with happiness. “What kind of place creates such a magical scent? I have never seen this.”
An old bee happened to notice the fly about to go down the neck of the bottle and called it from the distance. The fly stood still watching the bee nearing her.
“If I were you, I certainly would not go down there?” said the old bee.
“Why not?” said the fly surprised.
“Don't you find it strange that this bottle is hanging up in the air?” said the old bee.
“Why does it matter? Here or down there, it smells so nice?” said the starving fly.
“It is attached to a string, near delicious tempting grapes,” the old bee said.
“So?” said the fly.
“Think about it,” said the old bee flying closer to the fly. “It happened to be in the middle of a beautiful vineyard?”
“And?” said the fly dryly, irritated to be delayed.
“If you go down there, you'll never co me out.”
“You're just jealous,” answered the fly without waiting with a sneer.
“Why should I be jealous? I love flying in the morning breeze and find precious flowers, and be helpful to other flying insects like us.”
“You just say that because you're too big to go down the neck.”
“You are right. But I don’ t have to tell you that I’ve watched many other flies go down and never came back. You can go down and fill up your belly as much as you can, if you wish, or you can listen to me and fly to other places,” said the old bee, looking at the fly seriously.
“You are a mean old bee. Because you cannot get into the bottle, you want everyone else to be deprived too!”
“You talk like someone who is hungry.”
“I’m hungry, that’s why I’m here. I don't have to listen to you.”
The old bee sat down on a grape leaf, saddened by the fly’s comment. He remained silent a good minute. The fly glances at the other flies at the bottom of the bottle and really could see nothing wrong. But the old bee had seeded doubt, and the fly was hesitant now. What about if the old bee was right?
“You are a wise fly,” said the old bee at long last. “It is a good thing to listen those with more experience than you have. I have been living here my whole life. All these flies were just passing by like you are.”
“But I’m so hungry.”
“The flies down there were hungry too. They are not dancing. Their wings and feet are glued to the honey. They will never come out again.”
“It smells so nice though.”
“I know where you can have more than you can think. Where farmer don’t set traps for us to get caught. The farmer here wants to protect his grapes.” The old bee got up and jumped off the leaf, gliding above the bee. “Coming? You won’t regret it.”
The fly however would not move. She had doubts. Something was bothering her. She watched the old bee flutter about, and spotted other bees in the nearby foliage. What about if the old bee’s precious words were just like the giddy scents in the bottle? To seduce her to better entrap her? Taking the old bee’s advice to listen to her reason, the fly decided to fly away and find her own patch of food somewhere else.
The Morals
#1) The things we are most afraid of are often the very things we need to face to be a better person.
#2) Don’t forget you have a life as well. Watching others grow won’t make you grow.
#3) If you live disconnected from your nature, you’ll be a like a tree without roots.
#4) You’ll be amazed the treasures you’ll find, if you only open your eyes.
#5) Relationships with the past are better than none in the present.
#6) Vanity is a poor allied in time of danger.
#7) Love for one’s family may come with heartache. But this love never dies.
#8) Never assume that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
#9) Fear is the biggest fear monger that exists.
#10) A voice of dissent is a good thing to have in a group of docile ones.
#11) Don’t invite people in grey suits wearing sneakers for a cup of tea. If they can’t see their own beauty, they will not be able to see yours.
#12) It’s better to have one friend that hears you than twenty that do not.
#13) Divided we fall. United we stand.
#14) Don’t brag to people who have less than you have.
#15) Never think that you are smarter than nature.
#16) If you spend all your time working, you will not know when to play.
#17) No matter the fruits you eat today, the memories of the past rarely match those of the present.
#18) Don’t defy curiosity in the face of knowledge, especially on Halloween night.
#19) Never allow other people to mislead you with their dreams. Only yours are real.
#20) When in need, don’t argue. It may be too late.
#21) When facing ignorance, don’t be afraid to educate.
#22) A sign of strength is to be able to recognize your mistakes.
#23) The fewer the people, the easier it is to find the right solution.
#24) The heartbreaking aspect of wisdom is that it cannot be taught.
#25) Misplaced kindness can lead to disaster.
#26) Being king of your castle does not make you one in another.
#27) It is not because the majority agrees that it is right. Most often it is not.
#28) Destroying the very thing that protects you will end up destroying you.
#29) Never forget that you are the center of your own universe.
#30) Misplaced pride will often breed its own downfall.
#31) Better be free in a small cramped universe than imprisoned in a large one.
#32) A strong appearance is a poor substitute for a weak inner worth.
#33) Always taking the easiest way out is a sure way to achieve nothing.
#34) If you only see the things you want to see, you sure won’t see the things you do not want to see.
#35) Opportunities are good indicators to see if you really want something.
#36) What’s the point of living in a community if you don’t care about the fate of its members?
#37) Be careful what you wish for. What appears like a dream may become a big nightmare.
#38) Stay opened minded, especially in time of hardship. Friends will come from the most unexpected places.
#39) The very thing we think can free us often turns out to imprison us. Do not spend your life building a maze in your head and write a book to find the way out of it.
#40) The starving belly that can still hear the goodness inside itself will always do well in the world.
Download these other titles by Frederic Colier
Fiction for Adults:
The Rain Crow (novel)
A Memoir of Absence (short story collection)
Les Témoignages Crépusculaires (short story collection, French)
Fiction for Middle Grade – Young Adult
Nick Klaus et le Paysage Désuet (novel, French) Book #1-4
Nick Klaus’s Fables (collection of fables) Book #5
Nick Klaus and the Room of Lost Fo
otsteps (novel) Book #6
Nick Klaus and the Tumbling Jumblelium (novel) Book #7
Film:
A Glimpse into the Firing Squad (screenplay collection, Vol 1)
Another Glimpse into the Firing Squad (screenplay collection, Vol 2)
Last Glimpse into the Firing Squad (screenplay collection, Vol 3)
Theater:
Playground for Talking Heads (play collection, vol 1)
When Your Eyes Hit the Sky (play collection, vol 2)
Les Années Sourdes (play collection, vol 1, French)
Les Années Sourdes (play collection, vol 2, French)
Non-Fiction:
Bruce Conner: In the Estheticization of Violence (literary criticism, Film Studies)
Les Recettes de la Famine (social commentaries)
Reflection on Reflectionism (Film Studies)
Poetry:
Les Limbes Oscillatoires (poetry collection, French)
Watch these films by Frederic Colier
My Last Play (feature doc, 92’) 2012 (Coming soon online)
Dinosaur Park (feature film, 78’) 2010. (Coming soon online)
The Hindenburg Omen (feature film, 110’) 2008, available for streaming online
Bounce (short, 5’) 2005
Desert Weeds (short, 16’) 2004
Of Wanderlust (short, 17’) 2003
About
was first a musician, before branching out into the theater, and then into the audio-visual world in 2000. This is when he founded Altered Ego Entertainment. Over the years, he has worked extensively in film and documentary as a writer, director and producer. He is currently the executive producer and host of Book Case TV, and Books Du Jour, weekly literary programs about authors and their books, broadcasting in the NY region. But his most enduring passion, since a teenager has been writing. He is the author of several novels, short story collections and plays, both in French and English. He holds