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A man and his wife were blessed by the birth of triplet daughters. With this blessing coming later in life, they named the girls Autumn, Summer and Winter. Amazed by the miracle, they vowed to use all of their being to raise, educate and nurture their daughters.

Beginning at a young age, they taught the girls the values: charity, courage, gratitude, honesty, hope, humility, moderation, respect, responsibility, sincerity, thrift and work. These life lessons were given with love and compassion.

The girls embraced these values with open arms and grew to become beautiful vibrant young ladies. As life would have it, a day came when the daughters announced that they were ready to go out on their own. They had decided to go in separate directions - taking the values learned - and make their own mark on the world.

Summer headed west, Autumn east, and Winter stayed near home. On their own they begin to get a taste of the world. After a while, they each met a man, fell in love and looked forward to marriage. Before their weddings, the girls queried of their beloveds, each man's feeling regarding the values they were raised upon.

Summer's young man agreed that the values were nice and sounded good, but he indicated more fun could be had if the values were ignored. Summer was conflicted, but love and lust overcame the value decision. She and her young man were married and began their lives together. Together they set out to live the life of free spirits without responsibilities.

Together they begged, cheated, lied and stole to survive. As times became worse and the need for money greater, Summer was given by her husband to other men for their pleasure.

Eventually, Summer’s husband grew tired of her, and in a fit of rage he beat her and left her to die. In a single gasp, Summer’s life had ended. The man and his wife never heard from Summer again.

On the other hand, Autumn’s young man embraced and declared his support for the values held dear to her heart. Proud Autumn called home and told the man and his wife about the nice man and their decision to be wed. Autumn and her husband began their life together and set to make a mark on the world.

Autumn’s husband got a job working for a powerful firm that provided them a good income. Autumn thought life was good. Then there was a dire change.

Autumn’s husband began to ignore the values she revered. Unexplained sums of money were found hidden in the home. Mysterious phone calls were received in the middle of night. Meetings were held with people unknown to her. She found lipstick on his shirt collar.

Autumn confronted her husband; he denied any wrong doing. He said “You enjoy the benefits of my work. I do what I have to do to keep my job.” Autumn agreed and dismissed her concerns.

Later, Autumn awoke one morning feeling ill. She went to the doctor. After the examination, the doctor told her she had been poisoned. Autumn was aghast. Questions raced through her mind. How? When? Where? Who? The doctor told her the poison had been placed in her food and that the tampering had occurred over a long period of time.

Not knowing what to do, Autumn called the man and his wife to seek counsel. Autumn was told by those that loved her: to leave her husband and never see him again. Autumn argued with justifications for keeping her husband.

Not satisfied with the opinion of the man and his wife, Autumn sought out the opinions of her friends. Each of them counseled that her husband was good, perhaps just misdirected, and if confronted he would return to the values Autumn cherished. Not thinking, Autumn failed to realize that her friends were her husband’s friends.

Once again Autumn confronted her husband, and once again he denied any wrongdoing and said the he lives the same values. Autumn again gave in and accepted his explanations. Autumn did not know that her husband was actually lying about everything.

After a while Autumn sensed things were still not right and began to investigate. She found that her husband had been lying to her. She confronted him once again. This time he grew angry, said he was growing tired of her accusations, beat her violently, and left her for dead. In a single gasp, Autumn’s life had ended. The man and his wife never heard from Autumn again.

Winter’s young man, from a young age had been taught by his parents with love and compassion the values: charity, courage, gratitude, honesty, hope, humility, moderation, respect, responsibility, sincerity, thrift and work; he shared the values Winter held dear to her heart. Winter returned home with her young man. The young man met the man and his wife, asked for the hand of Winter in marriage, and received their blessing.

Winter and her husband lived a long prosperous live, while holding strong to the values: charity, courage, gratitude, honesty, hope, humility, moderation, respect, responsibility, sincerity, thrift and work. They too were blessed with the birth of triplet daughters. The man and his wife enjoyed seeing their daughter become a wonderful mother.

The questions left by this story are "Why?" and "Is this truly a parable?"

Looking further, putting into our current context, here is the cast of characters:

Man – Life
His Wife – Liberty
Their Marriage – The pursuit of happiness and the foundation of our nation

Their daughters – We the People

Summer’s young man – Democratic candidates
Autumn’s young man – Republican candidates
Winter’s young man – Unaffiliated candidates

Uncover the meaning of the story.