Moral Short Story – The Fashion Show of the Universe
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It was time for the annual fashion show in the Universe and Fate was the official judge. It was a tough event to judge because angels have huge egos and one had to think twice before offending them. That is why Fate with his ever ready wit and as one whose judgment was accepted by all without question was thought to be in the best position to decide the winners and losers.
There had been many times in the past when the angels had found offense with what Fate had done and gotten angry with him, only to be cooled down by his charming wit and his wise judgment. Naturally on the appointed day he sat at the head of the dais as the angels walked the ramp.
The angels of the Universe were truly beautiful and highly talented, and he found it hard to find a winner amongst them. They sashayed up and down the ramp, gave smart answers to his difficult questions, and displayed exceptional talent in dance and music.
Amongst the contestants he found the angels of Love, Sacrifice, Good Times and Obstacle to be the most eye-catching. Others, no matter how good they were, he found a reason to eliminate them. They protested, and some even got furious. But Fate was a master of words and logic. And soon the angels found themselves agreeing with his reasoning, and quietly bowing down from the stage.
There was intense competition between the last four. Love was beautiful, Sacrifice was honorable, and Good Times was always welcome. The angel of Obstacles was always a constant finalist in all fashion shows. You could never get rid of her. No matter how hard others tried to defeat her, she would always find a way to get into the final rounds. And here she was again.
The four of them walked the ramp one last time. Fate finally found a flaw in Love. She was full of ego, so he disqualified her. Sacrifice spent too much time thinking about others and not enough about her welfare, so he removed her as well. Now he was left with Obstacle and Good Times.
Now Fate was in a dilemma. He had to work closely with these two and he did not want to antagonize either one of them. Good Times was known to leave at the drop of a hat, and Obstacle would cling like a bug and not let go when she became angry. Fate had to make his decision carefully.
The two angels looked at him with ambition in their eyes, eagerly waiting for the judgment. Obstacle had never won this contest and this was as close as she had gotten. Good Times sometimes won and sometimes lost, but she also wanted to win quite badly this time.
Fate thought about this dilemma for a while. Then much to the astonishment of the audience and the contestants, he decided to call it a tie. Everybody was stunned. Surely somebody had to win and somebody had to lose. Obstacle was furious and she demanded an explanation.
Fate spoke calmly and confidently.
“I have observed both of your walks and you are both equally good. But there is a slight difference. Obstacle looks good when she is walking away from you, while Good Times looks good when she is walking towards you. That is why I judged it a tie”
Both the angels were satisfied with the answer. They smiled, congratulated each other and went to the podium to receive their respective prizes.
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