A Fable About Image

There once was a heron that lived by a lake.
Every morning the heron would wake up and wade in the beach shallows.
Staring at its reflection.
All day the heron would admire the light gliding along its feathers.
At dusk the heron would fish.
Eating as much as it could.
The more fish it ate the brighter its plumage became.
This made the heron happy.
At night the heron would rest its beak underneath its wing and sleep.
This was the herons life. Staring and fishing and sleeping.
The heron had no desire to search for a mate.
The heron had no desire to interact with other creatures.
The heron loved himself and that was all he needed.
The eagle, the crow, the duck, and the loon took offense to the heron's loftiness.
He thinks he's so special. He thinks he's so superior. They thought.

One day a hunter crept through the woods towards the lake.

The eagle and the crow saw the hunter coming and warned the duck and the loon.

They did not warn the heron.

The heron was admiring himself when he was shot.

The heron forgot you see,

There is more than just me.