The story of apples and oranges
Long long ago, in Orchardland, there lived a family of apples. The Head Apple was a Happy go lucky fruit, and was a genuinely nice apple. One day, two strange orange fruits wanted to join the apple family. The Head Apple, being a progressive fruit, thought to himself “New Blood means new ideas, so we shall make them part of the apple family”. And thus, the oranges were included in the apple family.
Life went on as usual, and the Head Apple realized that the orange fruits had their own traits, which could be quite useful. They were citric, and hence brought a new flavor to the apple family. The two oranges, however were slowly, but steadily acclimatizing themselves.
As time progressed, both oranges grew and matured, Orange No 1 recognized that it was different from its family members, but also that it could get along with the family as long as it didn’t presume to takeover the life of an apple. Orange No 2 however, thought itself to be an apple and a superior apple at that. The Head Apple was fond of the two oranges, as they had brightened up the family, and indeed brought a new flavor to the family
One day, the Head Apple decided it was time to bring a democratic style into the Apple family, and called for a meeting of senior apples to discuss some important issues. Apples from all branches of the family came for this meeting. Now this was when some apples met the oranges for the first time, and they remarked on the fact that two aliens had been allowed inside the inner core. News soon reached the Head Apple’s ears, and the Head Apple took the dissenters to task, and made it clear that they were all one big happy family.
The Head Apple convened the meeting on a bright and sunny day, and all senior apples and the two oranges were invited. The meeting started, and issues were debated with fervor. The two oranges contributed where possible, the first orange not being too vocal, as it believed itself to be not of much use in a non-citric lifestyle. The other orange, under the belief that it was a superior apple, was far more vocal.
One of the key decisions to be taken was the recommended proportion of apple to milk in a milk shake. A heated argument followed, in the course of which the second orange spoke up with a strong opinion. “One apple to one glass is the ideal proportion. You can experiment with me, I shall sacrifice myself for this” it said. At this speech, the entire gathering burst out laughing. The orange was looking bewildered, and looked at its beloved Head Apple for guidance, and said “Head Apple, you know I am speaking sense, these other apples are talking in their narrow mindedness”.
The Head Apple was looking annoyed, and told the orange “What do you know about milkshake? You have a different acidic composition to that of us apples. Yes, I allow you to be part of the family, but remember you are from a tropical area. We apples are grown in harsh winters and have gone through far more rigors than you have. Do not take my indulgence to mean that I consider you equal to an apple”
The Orange was Squashed. It had learnt its lesson the hard way.
Moral of the story: Apples are apples, and oranges are oranges. Mixing the two is good as long as it is in a fruit salad, but if you try to whip the two together to mingle its taste, it’s a recipe for disaster.
