Case 1: Three ostriches had a running argument over the best way for an ostrich to defend himself.
Although they were brothers, their mothers always said couldnt understand how three eggs from the same nest could be so different. The youngest brother practiced biting and kicking incessantly and held the black belt. He asserted, The best defense is a good offence. The middle brother however, lived by the maxim that he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day. Through arduous practice, he had become the fastest ostrich in the desert, which you must admit is rather fast. The eldest brother, being wiser and more worldly, adopted the typical attitude of mature ostriches. What you dont know cant hurt you. He was far and away the best head-burier that any ostrich could recall. One day a feather hunter came to the desert and started robbing ostriches of their precious tail features. Now an ostrich with out his tail feather is an ostrich with out pride, so most ostriches came to the three brothers for an advice on how best to defend their family honor. You three have practiced self defense for years, said their spokesman. you have the know-how to save us, if you will teach it to us. And so each of the three brothers took on a group of followers for instruction in the proper method of self defense -according to each ones separate gospel. Eventually, the feature hunter turned up outside the camp of the youngest brother, where he heard the grunts and snorts of all the disciples who were busily practicing kicking and biting. The hunter was on foot but armed with an enormous club. Which he brandished menacingly as the youngest brother went out undaunted to engage him in combat. Yet because the cub was much longer than an ostrichs leg or neck./ after taking many lumps and bumps,, and not getting in a single kick or bite, the ostrich fell exhausted to the ground. The hunter casually plucked his precious tail feather, after which all his disciples gave up- without a fight. When the youngest ostrich told his brothers how his features had been lost, they both scoffed t him. why didnt you run demanded the middle one. a man cannot catch an ostrich. If you had put your head in the sand and ruffled your features properly, chimed the eldest, he would have thought you were a yucca and passed you by. The next day the hunter left his club at home and went out hunting on a motor cycle. When he discovered the middle brothers training camp, all the ostriches began to run, the brother in the lead, but the motor cycle was much faster and the hunter simply sped up alongside each ostrich and plucked his tail feather on the run. That night the other two brothers had the last word, Why didnt you turn on him and give him a good kick? asked the youngest, one solid kick and he would have fallen off that bike and broken his neck. No need to be so violent, added the eldest. With your head buried and your body held low, he would have gone past you so fast he would have thought you were sand dune. A few days later, the hunter was out walking without his club when he came upon the eldest brother camp. Eyes under! the leader ordered and was instantly obeyed. The hunter was unable to believe his luck, for all he had to do so was to walk slowly among the ostriches and pluck an enormous supply of tail features.
When the younger brothers heard this story, they felt impelled to remind their supposedly more mature sibling of their advice. He was unarmed, said the youngest. One good bite on the neck and youd never have seen him again. And he didnt even have that infernal motorcycle, added the middle brother. Why, you could have outdistanced him at half a trot. But the brothers arguments had no more effect on the eldest than his had on them, so they all kept practicing their own methods while they patiently grew their new features. Discussion Questions: What is the moral of the fable? How might this fable and its moral relate to your study of systems analysis and design?
