3 Stories About Envy

These stories about envy have been created so that we can see to its full extent the manifestations and effects of this insane passion. Envy is said to have been the cause of the first murder in sacred history. Cain killed Abel because he did not tolerate God giving him preferences. And more than one conflict, and even one war, have been born out of the envy of people or peoples.

Envy is the pain that comes for the good of others. It is a passion that almost all of us feel at some time in our lives. It occurs when our identity is not well established and we see our deprivations through others, and not in terms of ourselves.

Envy can be cured and the way to do it is to go two ways. The first is compassion: others also have their own shortcomings, their own sufferings, and it is difficult for them to obtain what they have. The second way is to recognize that ours is also valid and that we must fight to achieve what we want. Stories about envy remind us of those lessons.

1. The first of the stories about envy: the peacock

This was a peacock that was deeply admired by other animals. As soon as the sun rose when he began to walk through the fields, proud of his plumage. Everyone was always waiting for the moment when he would extend his tail and reveal all that beauty that he was carrying.

The envious story goes that one day some strange owls came to that place. They were all received very kindly. The group of owls chatted late into the night. It occurred to one of them to comment that there was a beautiful golden pheasant nearby  and that he had never seen such a beautiful bird. The others agreed.

The turkey, who was listening in on the conversation, couldn’t believe it. It sure had several flaws that others hadn’t seen. The next morning he set out to look for this pheasant, because he wanted to see it with his own eyes. He got lost in the woods and the peacock was never heard from again.

Moral of the first of the stories about envy: whoever feels envy, thinks that the merit of others lowers theirs.

2. Another of the stories about envy: who is worse?

The second of the stories about envy tells us that there was a distant country where the king wanted to know if envy or stinginess was worse. To find out the answer to this question, he sent for the most envious and stingy man in the entire kingdom. When he had them in front of him, he said: “ Each one of you, ask for whatever you want. But I will give the other double ”.

The miser felt very uncomfortable. By asking for something, you would also be giving something. Something similar happened to the envious. The miser said then that he wanted nothing. If they didn’t give anything to him, they wouldn’t give to the other either. It was the turn of the envious and he said: “I want you to take my eye out .”

Moral of the second of the stories about envy: an envious person is willing to suffer, if this makes the other suffer more.

3. The history of crabs

There was a fisherman selling crabs near the beach. It had two buckets where the animals rested. However, one of the buckets was covered, while the other was not. Nobody noticed that detail, until a woman approached to see the merchandise and was curious about the difference. He thought that perhaps the animals were of different quality. Then he asked the fisherman about the reason for this situation.

The salesman pointed to the bucket of crabs with a lid. ” These are Japanese crabs ,” he told her. And pointing to the other bucket, he added: ” And these are national crabs .” The woman did not understand. What did provenance have to do with one bucket being covered and the other not?

The fisherman, noticing the confusion, started to explain. “ You see, Japanese crabs get away easily. When one of them tries to leave, the others form a chain and help him, until he manages to flee. That is why it is necessary to put a lid on the bucket. On the other hand, the national crabs, as soon as they see that one tries to escape, they grab him and hold him so that he does not succeed ”.

Moral of the third of the stories about envy: Someone envious prefers not to achieve anything, as long as others do not achieve it either.