Listen to the Narration:
A bright yellow trumpet lily had bloomed in the farmhouse garden, and the wily farm cat went to sniff at it one sunny afternoon.
“Soon the farmer’s wife will cut you down for a bouquet,” the cat said to the trumpet lily, hoping to frighten it.
“Yes, I’ll get cut down,” replied the trumpet lily cheerfully. “And if it’s now, well then I’ll get cut down now. But if it’s later, then right now I’ll enjoy the afternoon, since the sun is shining — and getting cut down I will tend to another time.”
For Parents: What Stoic Quote Does This Story Illustrate?
“I have to die. If it is now, well then I die now; if later, then now I will take my lunch, since the hour for lunch has arrived – and dying I will tend to later.”
Epictetus
