Never Surrender What Is Most Important

There is a fable in Aesop that involves the behavior of the beaver.  In ancient times, beavers were often hunted for the scented oil, known as castorea, that was found in sacs near its genital area.  The beaver liked to rub its hind parts against trees and logs, thereby possessively marking them with his scent; and this scent apparently had to humans a pleasant aroma, reputed to be evocative of vanilla.  The ancients mistakenly thought that this valued aromatic came from the beaver’s scrotum, rather than from special internal sacs adjacent to the genitalia.

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