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One day Big Lemming called an assembly.

"It is time", said Big Lemming, "For us to cast ourselves into the Ocean. Such is the destiny of Lemmings."

But one young lemming, called Lemuel (Lemmy for short) asked "Why?"

A gasp of horror ran round the burrow. The hair of all the mature lemmings stood on end.

"Well... well because!", spluttered Big Lemming. "It's what lemmings do."

"Why?" said Lemmy. "Silly old tradition if you ask me."

His mum, his dad, his gran and every one in his kinship circle said: "If you don't don't know why, we aren't going to tell you!" They were weak on argumentation.

But Lemmy simply said: "Phooey! Chuck yourself into the silly old sea. I'm staying right here on the clifftop."

And so he did. All the others flung themselves into the sea and perished, but Lemmy survived.

Unfortunately he soon began to miss his fellow lemmings and wondered if he had failed to reach out them. Broken by remorse, he threw himself off the cliff.

MORAL

Traditions are only a social construct, but they get most of us in the end.