One day, a starving hyena was walking along a road when he came across the appetizing scent of roasting meat. This was the closest the hyena had come to having something in his stomach in the many days that food had eluded him. Without wasting time, he immediately began following the promising scent.

After a short distance however, the hyena discovered that the road branched into two paths. The hyena was in a dilemma after realizing that the scent came from each of these paths. After pondering his problem for a while, the hyena came to a decision – to walk down the two paths at the same time. That way, the he would not miss any of the two feasting opportunities.

To achieve this impossible feat, the hyena set himself astride the two branching paths and began walking. The more the roads diverged, the wider he had to stretch out his legs. Despite the extraordinary effort involved, the hyena’s greedy streak would not let him quit. Finally, the hyena split into two.

It is a good thing to seize each and every opportunity that presents itself to us. However, at some point, we might have to make a choice that forces us to drop what is considerably valuable. Though it is a painful process at times, it is the wise thing to do. Otherwise, we risk spreading ourselves too thin and ending up with complications that come when we handle matters that require us to have more than two hands attached to our bodies.