Story: How to kill a relationship

Credit: David Castillo Dominici
Credit: David Castillo Dominici

Johnny was a sturdy, robust kid of three. He made friends with a billy goat next door. Each morning he would pull up some grass and lettuce and make them over as breakfast for Billy.

 

So deep was their friendship that Johnny would spend hours in Billy's pleasant company.

 

One day, it occured to Johnny that a change of diet would do Billy a lot of good. So he went to visit his friend with rhubarb instead of lettuce.

 

Billy nibbled a bit of the rhubarb, decided he didn't want it, and pushed it away. Johnny caught Billy by one of his horns and attempted to get him to eat the rhubarb.

 

This time Billy butted Johnny away, gently at first, but as Johnny grew persistent, quite firmly, so that Johnny stumbled and fell with a thump on his backside.

 

Johnny was so offended by this that he brushed himself off, glared at Billy and walked away, never to return.

 

Some days later when his father asked him why he never went over to chat with Billy, Johnny replied, "because he rejected me."

 

Question: Who kills the relationship in your opinion?

 

Source

This is from The Prayer of The Frog (2), a book of spiritual stories by Anthony de Mello.