In my favorite childhood cartoon Adventures of Mowgli (1967), based on Kipling’s stories, there is a lesson. The bear Baloo asks the wolf pups to recall what they must say before jumping into a river full of crocodiles.
The pups hesitate, and only Mowgli shouts the magic words: "We be of one blood, thou and I!" Hearing this, the crocs nod friendly: "Path clear."
It’s hard to imagine two creatures farther apart:
Wolf's a young hunter; croc's unchanged in 200 million years;
Croc lies in wait; wolf packs and drives the prey;
Wolf wears it down; croc bets on on a sudden strike;
Croc's a lone "introvert"; wolf's a social animal;
Wolf is always in motion, croc still as deadwood;
Croc’s blood absorbs external warmth, wolf makes his own heat.
Both have blood made of red cells, white cells, platelets, and plasma, yet the mix differs like diesel and gasoline.
And still, at the core, their blood is the same — water, organic molecules, a carbon matrix. They have more in common with each other than with malachite or iron ore.
He who spots a shared drop in the stranger? He looks like a wizard to the crowd. One word is enough for him to turn a deadly contradiction into fertile novelty.
Yours sincerely,
-Alexander
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