The Altruistic Worm

One day a lowly earthworm is busily acting in his capacity as an agent of decay, aerating and fertilizing the soil when a fisherman happens along on his way to the river and snatches up the worm to use as bait.

Upon arriving at the river bank, the fisherman takes the worm out of his pocket and skewers him on a fish hook and casts him into the river. The worm is injured but still very much alive hanging on the fish hook when a cynical fish swam past and stopped to eyeball the earthworm as he bobbed along down in the depths.

The altruistic earthworm said to the fish, "Don't eat me, there is a fish hook through my gut, and while I may look like an appealing piece of prey, I assure you that there is a predator lurking above who would as soon eat you as you would me." The cynical fish eyes the worm with suspicion. The worm continued, "Now I can see that you are not inclined to believe me, but let me assure you I am not acting out of self interest, for I am sure to meet my doom in either case, for if you do not eat me I will surely drown in this river in short order, so it matters little to me."

The fish pondered this dilemma for a moment, and in a swift motion swallows the worm. The fisherman, seeing the float bob down, sets the hook securing his dinner and fate of the fish.


I don't know if there is a moral to this story, it sort of appeared in my head for no particular reason while I was on my way to work, and I figured somebody might enjoy it.