The Secretive Scorpion

To attract a lover, a Scorpion hid his stinger & his pinchers. They were very sharp & he was afraid they would scare lovers away. One night, the Scorpion called his lover into a dark room. Ouch! said the Lover & turned on the light. The Lover saw that the Scorpion had a stinger & pinchers & asked him why he had not shown them. I am sorry, said the Scorpion, I was afraid that you would not love me because I had them. Well, said the Lover, I don't love you any more, but not because you have them, but because you hid them from me, & because of that, your secret sharp things caused me more pain than they would have if I knew about them.