The Weekly Parable

The mayor of a certain city announced a community treasure hunt. It began with a publicly announced clue that pointed to the location of another clue. If participants followed the clues correctly, they would lead to the prize. The winner would be featured in the news and get to keep the treasure, which included some cash.

The first clue led participants to the city park. The second clue pointed them to the community fitness center; the third, to a local high school. The fourth clue took people to city hall. The fifth and final clue hinted at the treasure being found at the beach.

Of those who deciphered the first clue, most didn’t make it to the fifth.

One man who followed all of the clues arrived at the beach early in the morning with a shovel, certain he knew the exact location of the treasure. It was a favorite spot that fit the clue perfectly. He dug and dug and dug—and dug some more. His hole became wider as he went, and blisters formed at the base of his thumbs and fingers, but he kept going until the edge of the hole was above his head. Exhausted, dripping with sweat, and his stomach aching with hunger and thirst, the man drove his shovel into the ground and leaned on it. How could he have been wrong? How could the prize not be in this spot? He let out a long breath. When he’d rested enough, he clambered out of the pit.  As he stormed off of the beach, he took no notice of the other activity transpiring.

As it turned out, the final clue matched multiple places on the beach within the city limits. Someone who had come on the scene right after the first man realized this. He dug many holes, each only two or three feet deep and twice as wide. It was in digging his seventh hole that his shovel struck the box that contained the prize. Victorious, he took the treasure to his car and called city hall to announce his success.

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^{Photo by Pok Rie on Pexels.com}

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