Once upon a time, a king said to his minister, “When we talk about productivity, the dogs seem to be more productive than goats. But why do we see only herds of goats instead of packs of dogs? Can you explain?”
The smart minister replied, “Your Majesty, allow me to carry out an experiment and you shall know why.”
In the evening, the minister locked up twenty dogs in a house with a basket full of pancakes. In another house, the minister locked up another twenty goats with a basket full of hay. The minister ordered that the houses be locked up and guarded carefully. Then he told the King, “Your Majesty, you’ll have the answer by tomorrow morning.”
The next morning, they returned to the two houses. When the minister ordered the guards to open the house in which the dogs were kept, they saw that the dogs had fought each other to death while the basket of pancakes was left untouched.
Then the minister and the King came to the other house which had the goats locked up. They saw the goats were lying close to each other, deep asleep. The basket of hay was now empty.
“Your Majesty,” the minister said, “the dogs didn’t eat their food but they fought to death for it. The goats, however, ate the hay and slept together. That is why the goats can flourish and grow in bigger numbers while the dogs keep fighting amongst themselves. It is the same with people. When they keep fighting each other, they will never prosper.”
The King was happy with the minister’s answer.