Foreword:
This fable represents human tendency to embark in alternate ways, with or without reasons. It is numbered 207 in the Perry Index (as 207. The Shepherd and The Sea), and not to be confused with 'Shepherd and Dog' or 'The Shepherd and his Sheep' or 'The Shepherd and the Young Wolves', numbered 206, 208, and 209 respectively in the Perry Index.
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A young shepherd tended his sheep near the sea.
Keeping watch over his sheep near the shore, he would sit down on a rock to enjoy the cool breeze.
On a beautiful summer day, as the enchanting blue ocean lay before him, his heart thrilled with pleasure.
"How beautiful and calm the water is! A life on the sea, must be a wonderful life!", he wondered, "How happy would I be, If I could sail the sea, visit other lands, see other people, and become rich in ministering to their wants and pleasures!"
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to go to the sea, and undertake voyages to distant lands.
He lost all interest for a pastoral life, and lured by the prospect of gain, he determined to quit the current employment, which he now despised as yielding neither honour nor profit.
The young shepherd decided to sell his flock of sheep, to amass an investment required, to become a voyager and trader.
The next morning, he gathered all his sheep, and headed for the marketplace.
Soon enough, he found a buyer, and explained to him, "The life at sea is calm and peaceful. I have decided to use the money to become a trader at the sea."
The buyer, a fellow shepherd, bought his entire flock, with a warning, "I worry, for you may be sorry. There is more to the sea, than meets the eye."
With part of the money, he headed for the shipyard, to buy a boat.
Soon, he found a boat for sale, and explained to the seller, "The life at sea is calm and peaceful. I have decided to become a trader at sea."
The seller gladly sold him the boat, with a warning, "I worry, for you may be sorry. There is more to the sea, than meets the eye."
Then, he headed for the market, invested in dates, and got his freight loaded aboard the boat.
The next morning, with a cargo of dates to trade, he set sail on the boat. Happily, he thought to himself, "What a wonderful life! It is even more pleasant than I had imagined."
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After sailing for some time, the wind died down, the sun was hot, and the air was still.
"This is dreadful. I hope it rains, or I shall perish from the heat", he said to himself.
Then, a terrible storm began to rage, and started destabilizing the boat. He had to throw away his cargo of dates, to keep his boat afloat in the wild and raging water.
But even without the load of cargo, as his boat was caught in a tempest, the boat began to dislodge into pieces and started to sink.
Somehow, the new merchant adventurer caught hold of a wooden log to keep himself afloat, as the boat sank.
After the storm subsided, and luckily for him, some fishermen on a larger boat noticed and rescued him.
"I am happy to be alive, but I am ruined!", he cried, "I have lost my boat, and all my cargo."
He sailed with the fishermen for some time, and finally reached land.
Having barely escaped with his life, he had enough of the sea. He eagerly longed to return to his farm, and get back to his pastoral life.
And, despite his condition, he headed straight to the fellow shepherd whom he had sold his flock of sheep.
Surprised to see him back so soon, he enquired on the merchant adventurer's condition.
"I no longer seek to become a trader at the sea", he replied, "I am ruined, and have no money. Can you give me the job of tending your flock of sheep?"
The fellow shepherd gladly employed him, but enquired, "Didn't you find the life at sea as calm and peaceful, as you had expected?"
He narrated his ordeal and misadventures at the sea, and pledged never to return to the sea.
"My voyage may have been brief, but I have learnt a great deal", he said, "Things are not always what they seem from afar!"
Moral:
Understand what you are doing before you do it.
Or,
Men may be happy in all estates, if they will but suit their minds to their condition.
Summary:
A shepherd, while keeping a watch over his flock of sheep near a sea, was attracted to the vastness and calm of the sea. He dreamt of making a voyage, and longed to buy a ship with a view on commerce. Soon, he sold everything to buy a ship, invested in dates, and loaded the ship with a cargo of dates. He set sail to sell dates in far-off lands. He enjoyed the voyage, till his ship got caught in a tempest in the middle of the sea. Due to the storm, his ship sank along with the cargo. He somehow escaped, and returned back to appreciate his earlier life of being a shepherd.
