He led his own horse across to the corral that contained the seventeen left by the young men’s
father. He pushed the gate open, let his own enter, then closed the gate again. Eighteen horses stood
in the enclosure.
“Now,” he said to the elder, “you take your portion of one-half.” How many did he get? Yes,
the brother counted out nine horses that he delightedly claimed for himself. Thanks to the stranger,
he got his rightful share.
Turning to the second brother the cowboy said, “Now you take your portion of one-third.”
How many was this? That’s right, the brother happily led out six horses. To the third brother the
stranger said, “Now it is your turn. Take your one-ninth.” Which was how many? Yes, the last brother
took his two horses, leaving behind the saddled horse of the stranger.
“Your father has left you more than horses,” said the cowboy. “In setting you this challenge, what
else do you think that he has given you?”
“I think,” said the first brother. “That he was trying to teach us that every problem has its solu-
tion. No matter how difficult it seems, to find an answer we might have to look at it differently.”
The second brother added, “I think it is more than that. Since we were little kids we have al-
ways been fighting and arguing. Perhaps he wanted us to see that working together gave us an op-
portunity for happiness. While greed and selfishness separated us, no one was happy.”
“I believe,” said the third, “he was possibly teaching us even more. He was saying that no matter
how much each of us thinks we are right, we may not have the answer. That sometimes we need to
look outside of ourselves. Sometimes somebody else can offer us a helpful idea for solving a problem.”
The cowboy just smiled as he mounted his horse, cocked his hat, and prepared to ride on.
STORY 69
OVERCOMING FEARTherapeutic Characteristics
Problem Addressed
■ FearResources Developed
■ Learning to reality test
■ Appreciating the values of fear
■ Discriminating between real and imagined fears
■ Accepting the temporary nature of emotions
■ Learning to change emotions positivelyOutcome Offered
■ Skills in fear managementFred was a mouse who lived in a hole in the wall in the corner of the house. Each morning when
he awoke he found himself looking forward to his toasted cheese sandwiches for breakfast—in fact,
168 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories