other than what the story portrays. Further, parables mirror pieces of reality and sometimes mirror the lives and histories of their readers. They may contain a plot we have already lived. They reveal us and at the same time call us to embrace a plot in order to be taken up in the plot (or, if negative, to choose another plot). We are asked not to be objective and distant but to embody the parable’s intent. After this emphasis on the role of hearing, we should state the obvious fact that all the