Prometheus and Cunning
Once upon a time, the wise master Prometheus lived at the edge of an old forest where cool waters flowed. The clever master wanted to show people the way with the works he shaped from clay and to teach them the virtues. One day he decided to make the smooth and magnificent statue of Truth that would guide humanity. He kneaded the red clay with patience and gave it a form so graceful that it warmed the heart of everyone who looked at the statue. This statue, standing in the corner of the workshop that shone like silver, was the most beautiful symbol of honesty. Just at that moment the chief god Zeus sent an urgent message and called the wise master to his palace. When Prometheus left the workshop, his cunning and jealous apprentice Trick slipped inside in secret.
The cunning apprentice looked at the wonderful work of his master and decided to make a twin of it. “I am as talented as the master and I can deceive everyone,” he whispered to himself. He shaped the clay in great haste and tried to make an exact copy of the statue his master had made. He completed the head and the body of the statue perfectly, but when he came to the feet his clay ran out. Because time was running short, he placed the statue whose feet were missing next to the oven in a hurry. When Prometheus returned, he looked with admiration at the two statues standing side by side and could not understand the difference between them. “Both of them look perfect,” he said, and breathed the breath of life into both statues.
The true statue that took a breath began to walk forward at once with grave and sure steps. But the false statue that the cunning apprentice had made stayed nailed to the spot because it had no feet. However beautiful falsehood may look, it always lacks a support on which to take a step. The wise master understood his mistake and gave the name Lie to this incomplete work that the apprentice had made. From that day on, while honesty wandered freely in the world, the lie always stayed stuck in its place. Even if imitated reality dazzles the eye at first sight, the lie has no feet to walk on. Lies have short legs.