The young Boy, the brave Man and the old Man (fabellae hermeticae)

The young Boy was walking on the dark, lonely path along with his Friends. It was a familiar road, well traveled but not without its perils. But alas, it could not be avoided.

At a crossroads the young Boy's Friends suddenly turned to him and told him that they want to run, run away as fast as they can and never be found again, never to look back.

And so they did.

And the young Boy was left disillusioned, without any Friends to walk along with him on his path.

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The brave Man was riding on a horse through the Citadel. An unusually large number of people filled the streets; the crowd was of a suffocating thickness.

Suddenly, from the crowd a smiling Woman waved at the brave Man. "Where are you going?" she asked him. "I am going home," he answered.

The Woman approached him, a wide smile still on her face, and asked, "may I join you on the ride to your Castle, to your Kingdom?"

The brave Man frowned. "Indeed, I once had a Castle and I once had a Kingdom. But I lost them, or should I say, I gave them up. All I have left now is this horse to carry me to places and soothe my sorrows."

The Woman excused herself and left.

And thus the brave Man (who perhaps was not so brave after all) was left disillusioned, with but a horse and no Kingdom, and indeed, no Castle to dwell upon.

⁂

The old Man died alone, like all Men eventually do.