The Louse and the Flea

Once upon a time, a louse and a flea decided to set up house together. They lived contentedly in their little home, sharing the daily chores and enjoying each other’s company. One day, they decided to brew beer in an eggshell.

“This will be a fine treat for us,” said the louse, carefully pouring water into the eggshell.

“Indeed,” agreed the flea, hopping about excitedly. “We shall have a merry feast!”

But the little louse unfortunately fell into the eggshell and scalded herself. Seeing this, the flea began to scream loudly.

“Why are you screaming so, little flea?” asked the door to their tiny house, concerned by the commotion.

“Because the louse has scalded herself,” replied the flea, still crying.

Upon hearing this sad news, the door began to creak loudly in distress.

A small broom standing in the corner witnessed the door creaking and asked, “Why are you creaking, door?”

“Should I not creak?” replied the door. “The louse has scalded herself, and the flea is weeping.”

The broom, moved by this tale of woe, began to sweep frantically across the floor.

A little cart passing by the window saw the broom sweeping furiously and called out, “Why are you sweeping so hard, broom?”

“Should I not sweep?” answered the broom. “The louse has scalded herself, the flea is weeping, and the door is creaking.”

The cart, now also disturbed by these events, began to roll around in circles very quickly, raising dust in the air.

“Why are you rolling so fast, cart?” asked a pile of ashes near the hearth, watching the cart’s unusual behavior.

“Should I not roll?” said the cart. “The louse has scalded herself, the flea is weeping, the door is creaking, and the broom is sweeping.”

The ashes, feeling they must also respond to this growing calamity, burst into flames, burning brightly.

A tree standing outside the window noticed the ashes blazing and inquired, “Why are you burning, ashes?”

“Should I not burn?” replied the ashes. “The louse has scalded herself, the flea is weeping, the door is creaking, the broom is sweeping, and the cart is rolling.”

The tree shook its branches vigorously in response, its leaves rustling loudly.

A young girl passing by with a water pitcher stopped to look at the wildly shaking tree. “Why are you shaking, tree?” she asked.

“Should I not shake?” said the tree. “The louse has scalded herself, the flea is weeping, the door is creaking, the broom is sweeping, the cart is rolling, and the ashes are burning.”

The girl, caught up in this escalating chain of reactions, lifted her pitcher and began to pour out all the water onto the ground.

A nearby stream saw the girl emptying her pitcher and called out, “Why are you pouring out your water, girl?”

“Should I not pour?” answered the girl. “The louse has scalded herself, the flea is weeping, the door is creaking, the broom is sweeping, the cart is rolling, the ashes are burning, and the tree is shaking.”

“Well then,” said the stream, “I shall begin to flow so strongly that I will drown you all!”

And with that, the stream rose up and began to flow more and more rapidly, growing larger and larger, until it had swallowed up the girl, the tree, the ashes, the cart, the broom, the door, the flea, and even the poor scalded louse in the eggshell.

Everything was washed away in the great flood that came from the stream, all because a little louse had fallen into an eggshell while brewing beer with her friend, the flea.

And that is why, to this very day, we must be careful with our actions, for even the smallest event can set off a chain of consequences that grows far beyond what we could imagine.