Once upon a time, there lived an old hunter renowned for his skill. One day, he was preparing to go on a hunt. Gathering others about him, he said, "We must go out in the plains and hunt, for winter is coming. You young fellows come with me. Perhaps you will learn a thing or two."
The younger hunters were pleased to hear this, for the old fellow had usually left them behind when he went hunting, and they were eager to learn. The first day out, the group spotted a herd of deer.
"Here's your chance," said the old hunter to one of the younger men.
But the younger hunter had no idea how to go about hunting. In his excitement to get close to the herd, he made too much noise and the herd ran off in all directions.
"It looks as though I'll have to do the job myself," said the old hunter grumpily. And so he did.
The next day, the group came upon a boar.
"Suppose you take over now," said the old hunter to another one of the young hunters.
The young man, reluctant to ask silly questions but determined to do his best, crept up on the boar. He leaped straight at it with his spear, but the big boar tossed him to the ground. The young hunter was lucky to escape in one piece. Mortified, he crept back to the group.
"No, no, no, NO!" said the old man. "The rest of you stay where you are," he growled. "I will do the job myself." And so he did.
That evening, as the others gathered admiringly about him, he said, "I can see that none of you is yet ready to take my place. As much as I hate to say it, I seem to be indispensable."
Time brought little change. The old hunter sometimes took others along with him on hunts, and occasionally he let one of them try to make a kill. But having received no instruction, they were unequal to the task.
One day, when he had grown quite old, he met a friend he had known for years. Before long, they began to discuss the hunters of their respective villages.
"Would you believe it?" he asked his friend. "I still have to do all the hunting for my village."
"That's odd," said his friend. "I find the younger hunters in my village take well to instruction. Some of them are carrying a good bit of responsibility. In fact," he continued, "I'm thinking about retiring completely next year and letting the younger fellows take over."
"I envy you," said the old hunter. "You can't imagine," he said, "what a burden it is to be indispensable."