The Book of Otter: The Fruit of Knowledge

"I'd like to feel again what I used to feel," said a young otter to Father Otter.  "Back when beauty was beautiful, belief was second nature to me, love was easy, and wonder came so quickly.  How can I do that?"

"Isn't that awful?" said Father Otter.  "Realizing how close to the core of the fruit we've gotten?  When the first sweetness is a memory, the bitterness is just a sore spot on the tongue, and the end of the apple grows tough on the teeth?"

There came a time when the young otter realized that Father Otter hadn't actually answered his question.

He was kind of prone to that failing.

You gotta watch that, if you need messiahs.