The Bald Knight and the Fly
Aesop's Fables · 1 min read
A fly landed on a bald man's exposed head and bit him sharply, and the man, reacting instantly in fury, slapped his own head with tremendous force trying to crush the insect — but the fly had already flown off unharmed, leaving the man with nothing to show for his effort but a painful, stinging welt on his own scalp.
The fly, circling above and watching the man wince and rub his sore head, called down mockingly, "You tried to kill a creature as small and insignificant as me with a blow strong enough to kill an ox — and all you accomplished was hurting yourself far worse than my little bite ever could have."
The man, still nursing his throbbing head, muttered a grudging response that stuck with him long after: overreacting to a small insult often causes more damage than the insult itself ever would have, since fury aimed at something too small and quick to actually catch tends to land on the one throwing it instead.
Moral of the story
Overreacting to a small provocation often causes more harm than the provocation itself ever would have.