Peaches

In a land where families pride themselves on knowing the best way to prepare peaches, neighbors compete furiously to outdo one another to find the true essence of the fruit. Their ever-more-complicated extraction processes are so competitive and convoluted that the people completely fail to benefit from the actual peach. Even young children will see the foolishness of over-complication and competition illustrated in this delightful tale. This story is one of many teaching stories collected and adapted by the Afghan philosopher Idries Shah, who told them to his own children to promote thinking skills and impart wisdom. These unique tales have their roots in Central Asia and the Middle East. They are published now in beautifully illustrated editions, so as to appeal both to children in the lands in which they originated and to children in the West, the aim being to teach through humor and example, and to draw attention to our commonalties.