A very ancient Being was serving as the Judge. There was only one Man, a lawyer, the defendant.
The grand Judgeon the high chair opened the court.
SHEEP : My Lord, please excuse my bleating voice, and the way I am, my ‘wooly-pooliness ’. Feeling Your compassion for all beings, at last I decided to come to You to have the great, great honor to talk in your presence.
" My Lord, I have to say to your Honor .. for thousands of years the Man, who stands there, is killing us and chewing our flesh. How long is this going to continue " We do not have any means to protect our rights, to live and enjoy nature. We give gladly our wool, our lanolin, to their children, but, please, your Honor, teach them not to eat our bodies. In the name of all sheep, I protest such an act. "
The Judge, after pondering for a few minutes, said :
Judge : " Man! What is your answer to such a charge? "
Man : " We need nourishment, your Honor. "
SHEEP : "What if we were to use Man as our nourishment, my Lord. Would this be right? "
Judge : "Answer the sheep, Man. "
Man : " I guess not. "
SHEEP : "Then why do you kill us with all your skill with knives, with shocks given to our skulls, slitting our necks, shedding our blood all over the world and selling pieces of our bodies in the markets of the world? "
Man : " I guess we should not. "
Judge: "So you admit your great crime of killing these innocent animals all over the world? "
Man : "We did not know a better way to live, your Honor. "
Judge : " Then, this is my judgment : .. your life will be shorter by five years! "
A cow and an ox entered the court.
COW : " Your Honor, we want to tell you that terrible crimes are committed against us ... For centuries.
Judge: " Why are you so late in bringing your complaint to the court? "
COW : " The conscience of Man was deeply asleep. No one, O Lord, had ears to listen. "
Judge : " Continue. "
COW : " For centuries, we helped Man; working in his fields, giving him our milk, carrying loads and pulling carriages .. but, as a reward our children, our fathers, and mothers are killed for food, and our bodies are ground in machines and roasted in fires.
" This was done by this so-called civilized Man. "
Judge : " Is this true? "
Man : " Yes, your Honor. "
Judge : "Are you guilty? "
Man : " Yes, your Honor. "
Judge : " Then my judgment is that :
.. you are going to live five years less and develop uneasy pains in your body! "
A deer came very, very grecetully ..
DEER : "My Lord, I have a great, great complaint. This Man, who is dressed in a suit with a tie and watch and ring, has weapons through which he throws fireballs which pass through our bodies and often through our hands causing terrible pain and often our children are left orphans.
" That is not all, my Lord, I have more complaints.
" In some places, they no longer shoot us because of some nice children of Light who love us. But, your Honor, do you know what Man does to us ? They have big machines and through them they destroy and take away our bushes, trees, forests, and level our mountains.
" Do you not think this is a crime? Man says he has a right to do this because he has a paper in his hand .. a paper which says : ‘the land belongs to him’.
" Does not the land belong to everyone ? No one person has a right to own it ! All forms of life are as shadows thrown on the mirror of the earth .. they come and then pass on. The earth remains for all.
" Your Honor, please tell us who gave the authority to Man to destroy nature? "
Judge : " Continue"
DEER : " Yes, your Honor, for that is not all.
" The most, most horrible thing is that although some of us have bushes and trees and forests to live in, we have extreme difficulty in finding pure water to drink.
"Water, if it is found, does not taste as before. Many streams are full of pain-causing chemicals.
" Your Honor, We want our clean water back .. our forests back .. our hills back. "
Judge : " Is this charge true, Man? "
Man : " As a matter of fact, your Honor, it is true. But, we need money, need housing, need land. We want to expand and multiply. "
Judge : " But to pollute water and destroy forests for the sake of multiplication .. why multiply beyond the limit? "
Man : " Your Honor, the deer has no right to insult us. He is not huMan. "
Deer : " Not being huMan does not mean not to have any rights! Am I right, your Honor ? "
Judge : " Then, this is my judgment :
.. Man, you do not use pure logic and because of these crimes your life will be shorter yet another five years! "
Source: " The Unusual Court " by" Torkom Saraydariar "