There was once a very wise man, who lived in a distant land. One day he decided to journey to a neighboring town with three of his followers. They were not long into their journey before they came upon a man picking berries. In his quest to get the largest and best berries the man had wandered into a quagmire and was buried up to his thighs. The wise man called out: "May we be of any assistance!" The man answered: " No! I am doing fine, and would advise that you seek berries somewhere else, these are mine." The wise man replied: " Very well." And, he and his students continued on their way.
Before much longer they came upon a man who was picking fruit and in his quest to obtain the largest and best apples the man had wandered into a quagmire and was now stuck up to his thighs in the mud. The wise man called out: "May we be of any assistance!" The man answered: " No! For I fear that you too may come to as sad an end as I. For once the sun sets the beasts of the night are sure to devour me." The wise man noticed that the main limb from which the man had been picking the low hanging fruit was of substantial size. He instructed his three students to climb up the tree and go out on the limb, knowing that their combined weight would cause the limb to bend down within reach of the man who was stuck in the quagmire. The wise man’s plan worked and soon the man was free of the mud and on solid ground.
At once the man, who had been picking fruit, fell at the feet of the wise man, and taking his sack of fruit from his shoulder, he offered all that he had. The wise man remarked: "Get to you feet. I only ask that you share some of what you have so that I, and my students, might be strengthen for the remainder of our journey. As they ate of the fruit, one of the students asked: "Why is it that the first man did not want our help, as he too was fast and will surely be devoured by the beasts of the night." The wise man answered: "The man’s heart was calloused by his greed for the berries. And, because the sun was still far from setting his mind was blinded to the fact that the dangers of the night would eventually come." In the same way, the light of living hear on earth blinds much of mankind; and thus they cannot see what danger the night of life has in store for them.