Bibliography: Bibliography: Noor Inayat, The Fairy and the Hare, The Fairy and the Hare
Not long ago, there was a young woman living in Los Angeles who was very beautiful. She had beautiful, flowing blonde hair that fell naturally into perfect curls. Her face was structured perfectly, her skin was flawless and her eyes were shiny, blue and surrounded by natural, dark eyelashes. This woman had virtually no flaws in her external appearance, and had a perfect personality to match her looks. She was humorous yet sophisticated, charismatic but formal, and confident but modest. She was fond of charitable work and had a passion for giving to those in need.
The beautiful young woman had three close friends: an actress, a politician and a musician. All three of these friends were quite successful in their respective fields and had quite a bit of money at their disposal. The young woman was not so fortunate as to have this money herself, but this didn't diminish her passion for giving.
One day, the four friends met together at the young woman's house. They had all recently agreed that they were wanting to do some charity work, which is why the three wealthier friends reached out to their beautiful, humble companion. The actress believed that if she were to help people and her fans witnessed it, they would come see her movies and she would be an even bigger success. The politician believed that if the voters saw him giving to the needy, they would give him their votes and he might have a chance at running for president. The musician believed that if he gave to the needy, people would buy his newest album and he might be nominated for a Grammy. The young woman, however, simply wanted to give due to her virtue and compassion for her fellow man. The group of friends decided they would each find a way to help a different charity organization, so they could pick something they are passionate about and maximize the impact they had on the citizens of Los Angeles.
The following week, the actress was the first to choose her charity. She wanted to work with something related to beauty and vanity, so she decided to give money to an organization that makes wigs for chemotherapy patients. However, she brought journalists and reporters to the charity and spent much more time doing self-advertising, rather than actual work. So while stories were reported on her "good deeds," the charity was not pleased and the people there received little aid from the actress.
The next person to pick a charity was the politician, who wanted to choose something related to his campaign values. Being pro-amnesty, he decided to help cook food for young children whose parents were recently deported. However, he brought camera men and other political figures to bear witness and was more focused on them than the children and their food. During his time there, he only cooked one pot of soup, leaving many of the children wanting more.
The musician was the next person to pick a charity, and he wanted to pick something that was related to music and art. So he decided he would do a performance at a local charity for deaf children with musical aspirations. The charity was supposed to increase funding to find new treatments for deafness, but the musician brought producers and marketers who would surely help him sell his new album. He decided he would impress people by signing one of his songs for the deaf children, but only learned enough signs to be quickly photographed during the first verse. And so, the children were deprived of an inspiring performance.
Finally, the young woman chose charitable work for her own project. However, she couldn't choose just one charity because she cared about so many important issues and didn't have enough money to make a significant donation. So, the woman set out to the Los Angeles streets, and started handing out $5 bills to every homeless person she passed on the street. She did not ask for anyone to see her good deed, and she did not expect anything in return. She took a large route, passing by the charities that her friends were "working" at along the way. At the end of the day, she had virtually no money left for herself.
When the young woman returned home, she turned on her television in preparation to call her friends and discuss their day of giving. When she picked up her phone, she noticed she had several messages on her answering machine. She played the recordings and one after another, she heard news stations, politicians and marketers praising her for her humble work. The friends came and met her at her house and told her that when she passed by each of their charities, the witnesses and cameramen at each place turned their focus to her and recognized her truly selfless work. None of the friends seeking fame were reported in the news that day, and rather the humble young woman received praise, donations and support from citizens all over California. She eventually started her own charity and was able to use her new supply of money to help those in need for a long time to come. And, thus, the friends learned that people often receive the most attention when they aren't looking for it. And they all lived happily ever after.
Author's Notes: This story is based off of a Jataka tale that was written by Noor Inayat. The story is called the "Fairy and the Hare" and features a beautiful Hare and his animal friends. The friends in the tale all decide to give food to people in need and have different ways of finding it. The three friends of the Hare all find ways to steal the food from others, and leave it for those who may be hungry and passing by. However, the three friends had true intentions of eating the food they found if nobody came along. The hare, however, does not steal and offers himself as food to a hungry old man. The old man then revealed his true form as a powerful fairy, and rewarded the beautiful hare for his pure heart and true virtue.
This story is a more modern adaptation, and I decided to set it in Los Angeles because this is a place were you would likely find politicians, musicians and actresses. The beautiful young woman in this story has the purest intentions out of all of her friends, and in the end receives the most praise and reward after all of the friends visit charities.