THE ALLIGATOR RIVER STORY
Appendix III
EXERCISE ON VALUES
THE ALLIGATOR RIVER STORY
(ANONYMOUS)
As most stories begin…Once upon a time, there was a river that was practically overflowing with alligators. As you may have guessed, it was called Alligator River. A girl named Abigail lived on the west bank of the river. Her boyfriend, Greg, live on the opposite bank. Abigail and Greg were very much in love with each other. One slight complication: no boat, and an alligator-filled river stood between them. Abigail decided to seek help so that she could see her boyfriend, Greg. She approached Rene, who owned a boat. Now this was very fortunate for Abigail because Rene’s boat was exactly what she needed to get across the river. She explained her situation to Rene and asked if she could borrow his boat. Rene thought for a moment and then replied: “Sure, you can borrow my boat, but only under one condition: The condition is that you sleep with me tonight.” Now this startled Abigail, because she didn’t want to sleep with Rene – she just wanted to borrow his boat so that she could see Greg. After Abigail had told Rene “nothing doing,” she wandered down the road until she came upon Henry. Abigail explained he plight (her desire to see Greg, Rene’s response) to Henry. After hearing all this, Henry told Abigail: “Don’t bother me! That’s not my concern. I’ve got other things to do. Leave me alone!” A despondent Abigail, her options exhausted, finally decided to go back to Rene. She slept with him that night. The next morning, Rene, true to his word, loaned his boat to Abigail. Abigail sailed across the river and saw her beloved Greg. After spending a few delightful hours together. Abigail felt compelled to tell Greg what happened. After she had related her whole story, Greg blew completely: “You what? I can’t believe that you slept with him! That’s it – it’s all over – just forget our relationship – get out of my life!” Distraught, Abigail wandered off. She came upon Larry, who was wandering
EXERCISE ON VALUES
THE ALLIGATOR RIVER STORY
(ANONYMOUS)
As most stories begin…Once upon a time, there was a river that was practically overflowing with alligators. As you may have guessed, it was called Alligator River. A girl named Abigail lived on the west bank of the river. Her boyfriend, Greg, live on the opposite bank. Abigail and Greg were very much in love with each other. One slight complication: no boat, and an alligator-filled river stood between them. Abigail decided to seek help so that she could see her boyfriend, Greg. She approached Rene, who owned a boat. Now this was very fortunate for Abigail because Rene’s boat was exactly what she needed to get across the river. She explained her situation to Rene and asked if she could borrow his boat. Rene thought for a moment and then replied: “Sure, you can borrow my boat, but only under one condition: The condition is that you sleep with me tonight.” Now this startled Abigail, because she didn’t want to sleep with Rene – she just wanted to borrow his boat so that she could see Greg. After Abigail had told Rene “nothing doing,” she wandered down the road until she came upon Henry. Abigail explained he plight (her desire to see Greg, Rene’s response) to Henry. After hearing all this, Henry told Abigail: “Don’t bother me! That’s not my concern. I’ve got other things to do. Leave me alone!” A despondent Abigail, her options exhausted, finally decided to go back to Rene. She slept with him that night. The next morning, Rene, true to his word, loaned his boat to Abigail. Abigail sailed across the river and saw her beloved Greg. After spending a few delightful hours together. Abigail felt compelled to tell Greg what happened. After she had related her whole story, Greg blew completely: “You what? I can’t believe that you slept with him! That’s it – it’s all over – just forget our relationship – get out of my life!” Distraught, Abigail wandered off. She came upon Larry, who was wandering