The Two Goats in the Mountains


High up in the mountains, there was a crevasse between two deep slopes that was bridged by a thin trunk of a dead tree. The first goat came to the trunk and intended to walk across to the other side when he looked forward and saw the second. The second goat stepped with one surefooted hoof onto the trunk and the first did the same.  The second goat took another step and the first goat matched it. Their eyes met in a glaring challenge and neither would step back even though the trunk was too thin for either to pass by the other. They continued towards each other until they met in the middle. Their fight began with strikes and blows, twisting and leaning, with fierce hits and pulls. As masters of balance and acrobatic skill, neither was deterred.  In an instant, the first goat remembered a fight he had when he was much younger in a sunny pasture far away.  He remembered that if he hooked his horns with the other goat in his past, he could twist his neck and capsize his opponent. So he locked horns with the second goat. He acted so fast that he didn't consider how this would end. As he twisted his neck, the other goat did indeed turn over and fell off the trunk, but being locked together, they both fell to their death. 


Moral of the story - Stubborness is often foolishness.