A father and his son went for a ride on a trolleycar. The boy seemed to be completely absorbed in the passing sights of San Francisco. His father, feeling a bit mischievous, lifted the boy’s cap from his head and pretended to throw it out the window. The boy began to cry, so his father whistled and placed the cap back on his son’s head. He made believe that he was able to bring the cap back by a mere whistle. The lad’s tears disappeared and he laughed. "That’s fun," he said, "let’s do it again" - and he grabbed his cap and threw it out the window.

That my friends is like a parable. It cannot really be explained - or the joke loses its point. You either get it or you don’t. You can not explain a joke. The same goes for a parable. That being said, let us now explain a parable.

A parable ha…