โThou shall not be sluggish and sloppy … “
Once upon a time there lived a moose in the heart of Yellowstone. Snooze was the moose’s name and he loved to spend most of the day sleeping in his hideout deep inside the dark woods. He was very lazy and slumber appealed to him more than anything else. Even when he sat or stood up, he would slouch and slump and was as sluggish as could be. Snooze had no family of his own and thought he needed no one but himself. Well, he was mistaken! One day he saw a beautiful calf moose roaming around and thought he must surely be dreaming! His eyes opened wide, his heart started racing and his legs, when he tried to stand up, buckled underneath. He was a sight to behold, yet he felt as awake as he had never been before and aware that he was alive! The lovely female moose was not impressed by Snooze’s looks. His messy appearance, his wobbly, shaky legs, the slush dripping from his mouth when he tried to say something, left her cold and disgusted. She walked away without giving him a second look.
For many days Snooze could not sleep or eat, he looked everywhere for the charming moose and was devastated at not being able to find her. Yet he did not give up and began to pay attention to his appearance. He had seen his reflection in the pond and the sight of himself so untidy and unkempt made him shiver. He realized how repulsive he looked and decided to pull himself together. He spent hours at the pond watching his posture, trying to improve the way he walked and learning to hold his head gracefully. When he ate, he did not smack his lips and drank carefully without spilling water on his fur. All to no avail, his lady love was not to be seen! Time went by but Snooze did not retreat into his old, bad habits and kept himself as tidy as could be hoping for the best.
And so it happened that one day, as he was getting more and more desperate, he saw her grazing at the pond. He approached carefully, his heart pounding, and asked her politely whether she would like to keep him company. The female moose accepted his offer and they became good friends. Only much later did she realize that her companion was the sleepy head she had seen in the bushes many moons ago. Snooze was never sluggish again, and even if he felt like snoozing, his large family would not let him do it. In addition, he came to the ancient and very wise conclusion that one cannot really live alone and be completely happy and fulfilled. His sense of well-being kept him neat and healthy and he became a loving but also very strict father. He continuously coached his children to behave in the ways a moose should. The little calves were respectful yet at times got very tired listening to their fatherโs rules, particularly to the one he kept repeating over and over again: โTHOU SHALL NOT BE SLUGGISH AND SLOPPY โฆโ