From The Fables

Before the Bars The lion was not born in the cage. That matters. Before the bars, there was movement, choice, distance, the ability to leave, the ability to refuse, and the ability to make another creature think very carefully before coming too close. Then something happened. The lion was taken. Confined. His world narrowed. And once his freedom was gone, the fox came nearer. Cages Rarely Arrive All at Once That is how some cages work in human life too. They do not always arrive with iron bars. Sometimes the first bar is illness. Then fatigue. Then money gets tighter. Then transportation disappears. Then you need more help. Then someone else begins handling things because it is easier. Then decisions start being made around you, then for you, then without you. No single moment looks large enough to call a cage. But one day you look around and realize that your life contains fewer doors than it used to. And the people standing outside those doors have changed too. Some become kinder. So...