Judge Not

Three cardinals were taking a bath. The bath was getting crowded but the three were managing to share with each other. It was a nice spring day, bright, sunny, but then, the birds started chirping: 

"What did you guys eat today?" The first cardinal asked. 

"Worms."

"Yeah, worms."

Cardinal Number 2 and Cardinal Number 3 replied. 

"How'd you guys get to this bath?" Number 1 asked. 

"Flew." 

"Yeah, flew."

Number 2 and Number 3 responded. 

This was a tough cookie to crack thought Number 1. Maybe these two other cardinals weren't very chatty. He'd have to come up with a really good question, one that they couldn't provide just a one word answer to. 

"How's the water?" Number 1 asked.

"Fine."

"Yeah, fine."

Damn it, thought Number 1. How am I going to start small talk with these two birds? We're all here together in this bath. Might as well talk about something, right? Maybe not, maybe it's just me that thinks people should talk if they are stuck in a closed space for a long time. It seems only natural. 

"Do you two have any hobbies?" Number 1 ventured. 

"No."

"Yeah, no"

What is the world coming too, number 1 thought to himself. How could people not want to talk? It's so rare that three birds can sit together and have a nice bath without worrying about bills or mortgages or nest maintenance. This should be easy but it's not at all. Number 1 tried again: 

"Is there a reason you two don't want to talk? I can leave you alone if you want."

This took Number 2 and Number 3 by surprise. What an odd question. People rarely ask if someone doesn't want to talk. Usually, they just take the hint and stop talking, but this, this was new. They really seemed to think about the answer to this question: 

"It's up to you."

"Yeah, it's up to you"

Number 1 had had it. He got up and toweled himself off. These boring birds might have ruined his bath but they certainly weren't going to ruin his day. He bid them both adieu and flew off hoping to find some better companions who knew how to hold a conversation. 

Number 2 turned to Number 3:

"Nice guy."

"Yeah, nice guy."

"Seemed to leave in a rush."

"Yeah, seemed to leave in a rush."

Number 2 checked his watch.

"Okay, four more minutes, and the bet is over."

"Yeah, okay, four more minutes, and the bet is over."

It was a simple reminder, one that gets repeated often but is rarely taken heed of. A reminder that the first cardinal could have used: Never judge others, for you can never truly know what bets they have lost.