A dog went for a walk with its owner and they called at the butcher’s where the owner bought some meat and the butcher gave the dog a bone.
Their walk home took them past the village pond. The dog, carrying his bone in his mouth, glanced at the water and was surprised to see another dog there, carrying in his mouth what seemed to be an even bigger and better bone. The dog failed to realise that he was, in fact, looking at his own reflection in the water. Instead, he determined that he must have the better bone which was being carried by this apparent rival and so he opened his mouth in order to issue a challenge.
The bone immediately fell out of his mouth and into the water. The dog was surprised to see the other bone disappear but he then realised that not only was there no longer a better bone to be seen but that also his own bone had irretrievably disappeared as well.
The moral of this story is that it is sensible, before chasing after something apparently better in life, to make sure that that something is attainable and is not simply a mirage which could disappear in an instant.
Life might have been tough at times during the past five years, whilst the Coalition Government struggled to bring the financial mess left by the last Labour Government under control but the Coalition policies are now beginning to bring results. Pension funds are now more valuable than they have ever been, the pound is continuing to increase in value against most other currencies.
The promises of the Opposition parties might well be mirages. Be sure before you vote that they are not.