A set of [fable] stories to offer you some insights on safety!

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1. The Frog and the Mouse: The mouse always spoke ill of the frog behind its back, and the frog harbored resentment over this. One day, the frog went to the mouse’s house, quickly tied himself and the mouse together with a rope, then leaped out of the house and dived deep into the pond. And that’s how the mouse was dragged underwater. After a while, the rat’s body floated to the surface of the water. 　　Just as the frog was feeling proud of itself, an eagle swooped down, grabbed the mouse in the pond, and flew up to a tree. Naturally, the frog was also pulled out along with it. It struggled desperately to break free, but to no avail; the eagle quickly ended its life. 　　Realization: The frog avenged itself on the mouse, but it also killed itself in the process. Please do not set traps for others, because you yourself could fall into a trap at any time. Similarly, in safe production, any potential safety hazards that are identified must be addressed promptly; otherwise, one will fall into the trap of those hazards and suffer as a result. 2. Apples by the River: An old monk, surrounded by a group of devout disciples. One day, he instructed his disciples to each go to the Southern Mountain and bring back a load of firewood. The disciples hurried to the riverbank not far from Nanshan, and everyone was stunned. The floodwaters rushed down from the mountains; it was absolutely impossible to cross the river to fetch firewood. Returning empty-handed, the disciples were all somewhat disheartened. Only a young monk faced his master calmly. The master asked why. The young monk took an apple out of his pocket and handed it to the master, saying that he couldn’t cross the river or gather firewood; seeing an apple tree by the riverbank, he simply picked the only apple on the tree. Later, the young monk became the successor to his master’s teachings. 　　It is also wisdom to turn back when a river cannot be crossed. But true wisdom also involves doing one thing by the river: releasing a kite for one’s thoughts, and picking a apple. The same is true for safety work: it is necessary to continuously reflect on the current safety situation, break free from conventional thinking, and use new perspectives, ideas, and methods to address the various safety challenges that arise. Only in this way can one truly become a \"expert in safety work\". 3. The rats in the temple: There is a local deity temple, whose walls are made by binding branches together and covering them with mud; it looks quite good. Yet rats take advantage of this to dig holes and build nests there, giving birth to offspring. People hate these harmful things immensely; they really want to get rid of them. However, if smoked with fire, there is a fear that the branches inside will burn; if watered, there is concern that the mud on the outside will be damaged. It’s really a dilemma. 　　These mice were able to survive because the Earth Temple protected them. 　　Warning: Rats in the temple can survive only if they have an environment to live in. Safety hazards in the production process, including unsafe human behaviors, unsafe conditions of equipment and materials, and management deficiencies, all arise due to the existence of a working environment. Therefore, to eliminate potential hazards, it is necessary to remove the environments in which they arise, thereby creating a safety environment where everyone checks for hazards, combats them, and proactively eliminates them. 4. The Hound and the Wild Boar: A young and strong old hound had never yielded to any beast in the forest. When he grew old, during one hunt, he encountered a wild boar; he bravely charged at it and bit its ear. Due to his weakened teeth from old age, he was unable to hold on tightly, so the wild boar broke free and fought back fiercely, knocking the hunting dog to the ground. 　　Realization: A young and strong hunting dog is invincible, but in old age, it falls to a wild boar. While lamenting the passage of time, we must also be aware that safety and danger are constantly changing as well: what was once safe may become unsafe over time, due to factors such as aging machinery or fire-fighting equipment that has passed its expiration date. Therefore, in our actual work, we must keep a close eye on things at all times; even devices that seem safe need to be regularly checked in order to eliminate potential problems before they arise. 5. Milking cows: A man kept a cow, which produced one bucket of milk per day. The owner wanted to entertain some guests, so in order to get more milk, he stopped milking for ten days. He thought firmly that by the tenth day, the cow would produce ten barrels of milk. But the milk in the cows’ bodies has completely dried up, and their milk production is now lower than ever before. Reflection: Colleagues working in safety supervision, do you feel the same way – is there a similarity between identifying and addressing safety hazards and the process of milking cows as described in the story? Once we identify potential risks, we should persevere and take immediate action to address them, rather than letting them accumulate. If one thinks of waiting until the end to make a concerted effort to make corrections, the accident might already have occurred, and nothing can be done but accept an outcome just as unfavorable as that in the story. 6. The cat that caught chickens. Once upon a time, in the State of Zhao, there was a man whose house was plagued by an overwhelming number of mice. So he went to the State of Zhongshan to ask for a cat, and the people of Zhongshan gave him one. This cat is not only good at catching mice, but also good at eating chickens. More than a month later, all the mice in his house were caught, and all the chickens were eaten up. His son asked in confusion, “Why not drive away this cat?” His father replied, “That’s exactly what you don’t understand. Our problem is the rats, not the chickens. If there are rats in the house, they will steal our food, ruin our clothes, bore holes in our walls, and damage our furniture. As a result, we will suffer from hunger and cold.” Isn’t this more harmful than having no chickens at all? Without chickens, we can refrain from eating them, but we won’t suffer from cold or hunger; so why should we drive the cats away?” Safety warning: When it comes to the issue of chickens and cats, the father weighs the pros and cons, considers the bigger picture, and sacrifices short-term interests. The relationship between production and safety is akin to that between chickens and cats; without safety, production cannot yield good economic or social benefits. When there is a conflict between production and safety, it is necessary to be willing to sacrifice some profits in order to prioritize human safety and property security. 7. The collapse of an ant hill dike: A village built a dike to prevent floods. One day, an old farmer noticed that the number of ant nests had suddenly increased significantly. The old farmer was worried that the ant nest might threaten the safety of the dike, so he wanted to return to the village to report it. On the way, he met his son, who didn’t take it seriously. That night, there was a storm with wind and rain, and the river rose sharply. The river water seeped in from the ant holes, then gushed out, eventually causing the dam to break and flooding large areas of villages along the banks. 　　Realization: Carelessness with small matters can lead to big disasters. The same is true for safe production; sometimes forgetting to wear a safety helmet or failing to tighten a screw slightly can lead to serious accidents. Therefore, one should focus on the big picture while starting with the small details, and not overlook any single detail. Once unsafe hazards are identified, corrective actions must be taken promptly to prevent problems from accumulating and leading to disasters. 8. Safety cannot be taken for granted. A turkey and a cow were chatting. The turkey said, “I wish I could fly to the top of the tree, but I don’t have the courage.” ”The cow said, “Why don’t you eat some of my cow dung? It’s very nutritious.” ” 　　The turkey ate a little cow dung, and it indeed gave it enough strength to fly to the first branch. The next day, it ate more cow dung and flew to the second branch. Two weeks later, the turkey proudly flew to the top of the tree, but soon a farmer saw it and quickly shot it down from the tree. 　　Safety warning: There is no room for luck when it comes to safety work. Sometimes good luck can take you to the top, but luck cannot keep you there for long; you must do your best to work safely. 9. The Story of Monkeys In Southeast Asia, there is a very interesting way of catching monkeys. The locals used a wooden box to put some delicious fruits inside; there was a small hole in the box, just big enough for a monkey’s hand to fit through. If the monkey grabs the fruit, its hand can’t be pulled back. Unless it drops the fruit in its hand. But most monkeys refuse to let go of what they are holding, so when the hunters arrive, they can catch them easily without much effort. In the course of their operations, do our companies often, in pursuit of a mere bit of profit, inadvertently choose to sacrifice the most precious thing: human life? Monkeys are indeed not very clever, and one can imagine what happens to them after being captured alive. But why do the lessons learned from what happens to monkeys keep happening to us humans, over and over again? 10. The Camel and the Monkey: At an animal gathering, the monkey took the stage to dance; it was very popular and won everyone’s praise, with all cheering for it. The camel was very jealous of the monkey; he too wanted to receive everyone’s applause. So, he stood up and, imitating a monkey, danced proudly by himself. As a result, his strange dancing style was full of awkward mistakes, and he accidentally fell heavily on the stage. 　　Reflection: The camel is essentially the ship of the desert and the king of the sands. Yet it tries to compete with agile monkeys on a stage, resulting in it making a fool of itself and ending up injured on the ground. It truly got what it deserved. 　　There’s a huge gap between different fields; doing one’s own job well is the best and safest choice. At work, we should not take risks trying out tasks we are not familiar with, and certainly not act like heroes for a moment’s sake and cause serious problems that will last a lifetime. 11. The Smart Chicken and the Magical Dog: The Smart Chicken and the Magical Dog are best friends. One day, while chasing a jumping insect, the clever chicken accidentally fell into an abandoned well that was 10 meters deep; it couldn’t fly its way out. The fairy dog brought a old rope and dropped it into the well. The clever chicken bit hold of the rope with its beak, and the fairy dog was able to rescue it easily. After some time, while chasing a rabbit, the elf dog saw the rabbit running in circles around one spot; filled with excitement, it pursued it in a straight line. But suddenly, it fell into a pit with a thud – it was actually the same abandoned well into which the clever chicken had fallen earlier. Seeing this, the clever chicken also found an old rope and lowered it down for the magical dog to grab onto. Just as the magical dog started to climb up with all its strength, the rope broke. Under the force of that pull, the clever chicken was also dragged into the dry well. The magical dog scolded the clever chicken, “Why didn’t you find a new rope and tie the other end to a big tree?” The smart chicken said, feeling very wronged: “You did the same thing when you saved me last time.” Safety lesson: Danger is always present; while striving to meet deadlines and pursuing profits, one should not take shortcuts – safety must come first ； Any potential hazards that are identified should be eliminated or measures taken to address them promptly. If such hazards are ignored, severe consequences will inevitably follow, requiring a heavy price to be paid, harming both others and oneself ； Rescue operations require proper methods; failing to conduct a thorough analysis of the potential hazards and risk factors goes against scientific principles. Additionally, simply copying past experiences or established practices that seemed successful in the past in a blind manner often has the opposite effect, leading to an escalation of the accident.