There was this fat boy who lived in a community in a desert. He would eat a lot, but most often while sitting in front of his friends. You see, since they lived in a desert, where food was scarce, his friends were starving, even the whole community - you could see all of their bones. The fat boy loved his friends deeply, and always offered them food to eat, but they would always decline. So the fat boy was often baffled by their seemingly stupid reactions.
The fat boy's friends would always listen to him talk about all the food his Mother prepared in her House, and that they were welcome to come and eat if they wanted. So they would always see the fat boy eating delicious looking food, and listen to him speak about how tasty the food is. Interestingly enough, the fat boy's friends never salivated over his food, even after he offered them food time and time again and saw how satiated the food made him.
On some nights, the fat boy's friends would see the fat boy standing at his post and would watch delivery trucks drop off food ordered by his Mother. His friends would stand there in awe, but would never ask the fat boy for food, nor would they take it when offered. Some of his friends would say to him, "I want to see another delivery truck", so the fat boy, angered by their ignorance, would ask them, "What is more important, the truck, or the items being delivered? If you desire food, you will surely see the trucks and feast on the food delivered."
After hearing the fat boy persistently eat and talk about eating, his friends would sometimes mock him, and say "You always talk about your Mother and the food She gives you. Just shut up! We don't want to hear it anymore!" And some of his friends would simply ignore him, even though they saw him plainly, and saw how fat he was and how thin they were. The fat boy would say to his friends, "You are all thin, each and every one of you. Look at me! Look at my body in this desert. I am well fed by my Mother. Who feeds you? Aren't you the outcome of all your circumstances which you had little control over. The only reason you're still alive is because of the physicians keeping you from sunburn, the military keeping you from duststorms, and your bosses giving you drops of water from the dam they built. I watch you starve, oh, I watch you starve. Should you think it a coincidence that all of you have problems you can't lift yourselves out of? Isn't it notable that when you mock what my Mother gives me, your life seem to mock you in return?" The fat boy ran to his Mother and cried, "You have made me a shepherd of blind sheep, so what use are any of my actions? What is the point of continually eating in front of their faces? They smell the food You give me, but they do not salivate over it - nor do they desire any, not even a tiny bite. They see that You made me fat, but they choose to have burning stomachs. What is wrong with humanity?"
His Mother looked at him and opened Her mouth. But when she opened Her mouth, the dam in the distance collapsed, and the waters burst through, and there was the sound of a large tumult of waters in the air. So She answered him over the waters and said, "A shepherd with sight is better to guide than a shepherd without sight; they can see the treacherous wolf. Even though the sheep are blind, the shepherd can still guide them with his voice, especially if they trust his voice. He can lead them with his hands if his hands are gentle. But in either case, the sheep must desire to eat, otherwise, the shepherd will have nowhere to lead them. So let them graze in the field where no grass grows, because they may realize they are eating nothing, and might turn to Me."
