'Don't walk sideways,' said a mother crab to her child, 'and don't drag your sides against the wet rock.'
'Mother,' the young crab replied, 'if you want to teach me, walk straight yourself. I will watch you and then I will copy you.'
When one reproves others, it is just as well to live straight and walk straight oneself before starting to preach a lesson.
This is a fable from Aesop. When I was little I was given a children's version of Aesops fables and loved them. Later as a young adult I was given 'Aesop - The Complete Fables' translated by Olivia and Robert Temple and published by Penguin 1998. I enjoy most of the fables and being a young mother I particularly appreciate this one.
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