Hilarious Story :D

I was perusing a friend of mine's blog today when I came across this story. I couldn't resist re-posting it:

An Interesting Story
My uncle told me an interesting story today about keeping a watchful eye out for opportunities. He told me the story in Arabic, so I will do my best to translate it as closely as possible. Excuse me if some of it doesn't sound right; things sound wierd when they're translated."

Once upon a time, there was a man whose life was filled with bad luck. [For storytelling purposes, let's call him Bob.] Bob used to fail at everything he tried. He was poor, homeless, and what not. His life was miserable and he was unhappy with it.

One day, he decided he wanted to meet his 'luck' and find out why his life was so miserable. So he asked around about where 'lucks' lived and set out on a journey to the land of the 'lucks.'

On his way, he encountered a lion who was sitting on the edge of the forest. The lion was clearly weak and powerless. He asked Bob where he was headed. Bob said, "I am on my way to the land of the lucks to meet my luck and speak to him about why my life is so miserable.""Will you do me a favor?" the lion asked. "I am a lion; I am supposed to be the king of the jungle. But look at me. I am weak and powerless and unable even to kill my prey. Will you please ask my luck why I am so and then tell me what he said on your way back?"Bob agreed and continued on his journey.

He came across a farmer who was planting seeds. The farmer asked him where he was going. "I am on my way to the land of the lucks to meet my luck and speak to him about why my life is so miserable," Bob said."Will you do me a favor?" the farmer asked. "I have been planting and watering my plants for ages, but nothing is growing. Will you ask my luck why I have been faced with such bad fortune and then tell me what he said on your way back?"Bob agreed and continued on his journey.

He came across a pond with a fish in it that appeared to be stuck with half her body in the water and her head outside of the water. When he told her where he was going, she replied, "Will you do me a favor? I have been stuck like this for a while, and I am unable to dive back into the water. Will you ask my luck why I am so unfortunate and then tell me what he said on your way back?"Bob agreed and continued on his journey.

He entered a large nation, the people of which took him to the palace of their queen. When Bob told the queen where he was headed, she said, "Will you do me a favor? My subjects do not respect me. Will you ask my luck why this is so and then tell me what he said on your way back?"Bob agreed and continued on his journey.

When he finally reached the land of the lucks and met his luck, he asked him, "Why have you made my life so miserable?"Luck responded, "Here's what you need to do: you have three leaps coming your way [Leaps, as in opportunities]. If you find them or even one of them, you will become successful in your life."When Bob asked him about the lion, farmer, fish and queen, Luck said, "The lion will become strong if he eats the meat of a jackass. As for the farmer, his plants are not growing because there is treasure buried in his land. If he digs the treasure out, the land will become fertile. As for the fish, she has swallowed a magic ring that is causing her head to stick out of the water. If she can get it out of her body, she will be able to swim again. As for the queen, her subjects are not respecting her because she is not married. If she had a husband, they would respect her."

Bob began his journey back, stopping on his way to tell the queen, farmer, fish, and lion what Luck had said about them.When he told the queen that Luck said she must find a husband, she said to Bob, "Would you like to marry me and become the king of my kingdom?" But Bob said, "No, no, no, I must continue. I am too busy looking for my leaps."When he reached the fish and told her what Luck had said about her, she said to Bob, "Would you please squeeze me so I can get the magic ring out? You can keep the ring for yourself if you like." But Bob said, "No, no, no, I must continue. I am too busy looking for my leaps."When Bob reached the farmer and told him what Luck had said about him, the farmer said, "Would you like to help me dig out the treasure? We can split it equally between the two of us." But Bob said, "No, no, no, I must continue. I am too busy looking for my leaps."

Finally, Bob reached the lion and told him that Luck had said he must eat the meat of a jackass. The lion said, "You only just came across your three leaps and you brushed them aside! Who can be more like a jackass than you?!"And so the lion ate Bob."THE END :)

Credit to Noma for the story :)
Excuse the language
I just got such a kick out of that story, and it had a good lesson too.