We are presented with a number of short stories. Each has a single typo; taking the dropped letter gives us a hint, “DISREGARDING ALL ELSE SOLVE MORALS INVERT THEM AND REORDER SOMEHOW GOOD LUCK,” followed by a string of random letters. (Keen eyes might notice that the rest of the stories beyond this point are sorted alphabetically.)
As both the puzzle title and the clue phrase indicate, we need to solve for the “moral of the story.” Using the enumerations to help us, we should notice that many lessons oppose what standard fables tell us – for example, “Make fun of the dead” (4th story) or “As a child be ill-behaved” (5th story). Inverting them results in more appropriate morals, like “Don’t make fun of the dead” or “As a child be well-behaved.”
Throughout the stories, we can find a number of Greek references, such as Greek gods and currency. Googling Greek along with some keywords from solved morals should point us to the Delphic maxims, a famous set of 147 moral principles. We can use this bank to fill in the remaining morals and match them, giving us a canonical ordering.
Under the new ordering, the missing letters now read: “MAY I HAVE SOME ADVICE RED PANDA ASKED YES HERRING RESPONDED IF YOU READ FROM THE BEGINNING YOULL LEARN THAT THE REAL FRIENDS ARE THE LESSONS WE DIDNT LEARN ALONG THE WAY.” This final story suggests that we look for the 8 missing maxims.
The final step is to “read from the beginning,” or take the first letters. Due to the Greek theme, taking the first letters of the Greek maxims gives the answer ΦΛΕΓΜΟΝΗ (translation: INFLAMMATION).
Maxim No. | Inverted Maxim | Typo | Given Order | Fable starting… |
---|---|---|---|---|
14 | Don't be in control of yourself | D | 1 | Herring kept falling off the tightrope. … |
52 | Pray for what is impossible | I | 2 | Herring went to the temple every day to … |
120 | Don't take sensible risks | S | 3 | The stoplight was broken. Red Panda look… |
134 | Make fun of the dead | R | 4 | At her first standup event, Red Panda sa… |
143 | As a child be ill-behaved | E | 5 | When Herring was in elementary school, h… |
42 | Don't have respect for suppliants | G | 6 | Herring kicked the beggar and trashed al… |
28 | Show favour to your enemies | A | 7 | After the battle, Red Panda brought brow… |
20 | Reject friendship | R | 8 | Ding dong! Herring opened his door to fi… |
32 | Be partial | D | 9 | As a member of the jury, Red Panda voted… |
4 | Respect your children | I | 10 | After Red Panda forgot to bow to her kid… |
74 | Revere a sense of pride | N | 11 | Red Panda sniffed the air and said "I ca… |
78 | Don't listen and don't observe | G | 12 | Herring went to work with tape over his … |
92 | Complete the race and chicken out | A | 13 | In the marathon-skydiving event, Herring… |
131 | Crown your descendants | L | 14 | King Herring stepped down from the thron… |
84 | Make unjust judgements | L | 15 | When the noble accused the shepherd of s… |
21 | Let go of education | E | 16 | Red Panda dropped out of school because … |
83 | Embrace violence | L | 17 | One day, Herring's house was robbed. Onc… |
45 | If you have, take | S | 18 | After checking out at Costco, Herring de… |
71 | Associate with dissimilar people | E | 19 | Red Panda met a young, rich shepherd and… |
29 | Ward off your friends | S | 20 | On the day that his buddies were to visi… |
56 | Look down on all | O | 21 | Herring loved to people-watch from the b… |
100 | Act indecisively | L | 22 | Red Panda could not pick which restauran… |
7 | What you didn't hear understand it | V | 23 | Red Panda yelled at Herring, but he was … |
113 | Fight old age | E | 24 | Herring worked as a longevity researcher… |
1 | Follow Satan | M | 25 | Red Panda emerged holding a bag of money… |
118 | Abandon honour | O | 26 | Halfway through building a statue to pra… |
39 | Waste time | R | 27 | For hours and hours on end, Red Panda sa… |
13 | Dishonour the hearth | A | 28 | As Herring insulted the fireplace floor,… |
137 | Have grief | L | 29 | After a tragic event, Herring first coul… |
117 | Acquire wealth unjustly | S | 30 | Herring toiled fairly to earn his wages…. |
76 | Pray for failure | I | 31 | Herring often left offerings at the temp… |
105 | Guard enmity | N | 32 | During a match between two foes, Red Pan… |
15 | Help your enemies | V | 33 | During the Olympic race, Red Panda stopp… |
96 | Benefit others | E | 34 | Red Panda donated some money to charity … |
97 | Be rude | R | 35 | Herring greeted Red Panda with a smile a… |
93 | Deal kindly with no one | T | 36 | Red Panda worked at a casino. She gave o… |
90 | Die free of sorrow | T | 37 | As he took his last breath, Herring real… |
68 | Recognize misfortune | H | 38 | During the trivia contest, Red Panda cor… |
12 | Know when you are an insider | E | 39 | The police interrogated Herring, "Were y… |
66 | Know who isn't the judge | M | 40 | After the speech, Red Panda went up to m… |
61 | Don't be on your guard | A | 41 | As Red Panda battled the Persians, she l… |
48 | Be a seeker of stupidity | N | 42 | Red Panda looked for and met up with the… |
125 | Fight an absent foe | D | 43 | Herring threw a punch at his imaginary e… |
43 | Don't be accommodating to all | R | 44 | Herring and his collegues tried to sched… |
110 | Pursue what isn't profitable | E | 45 | "If you follow me, I'll give you a drach… |
10 | Know your threat | O | 46 | Herring didn't realize he had a dagger i… |
88 | Speak from ignorance | R | 47 | "I am talking about things I know nothin… |
49 | Choose what isn't holy | D | 48 | Thirsty, Herring stumbled upon an altar … |
50 | Act from ignorance | E | 49 | Red Panda was excited for her new appren… |
38 | Everything in excess | R | 50 | Red Panda grabbed extras of all the diff… |
107 | Flee harmony | S | 51 | Coming across an illegal concert, Herrin… |
65 | Honour bad people | O | 52 | Red Panda liked to visit the graves of m… |
11 | Think immortal thoughts | M | 53 | As the building collapsed, Red Panda app… |
19 | Use an oath | E | 54 | As a witness on the stand, Herring solem… |
112 | Dissolve friendships | H | 55 | While Red Panda conducted a chemistry ex… |
138 | Beget bad from bad | O | 56 | Lacking inspiration, Herring chose to so… |
145 | As a middle-aged person lie | W | 57 | Red Panda woke up on her 40th birthday f… |
140 | Wrong the dead | G | 58 | Herring and his siblings made a deathbed… |
80 | Love strife | O | 59 | While on Tinder, Red Panda swiped right … |
47 | Speak poorly of everyone | O | 60 | One day, Red Panda went around badmouthi… |
106 | Be ungrateful | D | 61 | After Red Panda handed Herring a barley-… |
85 | Use what you don't have | L | 62 | Red Panda wanted to make some baklava, b… |
57 | Make use of incompetence | U | 63 | Herring hired a new college grad. Althou… |
18 | Dishonour forethought | C | 64 | Herring brought an umbrella to the picni… |
30 | Exercise proletariat of character | K | 65 | Every day, Red Panda helped train the la… |
23 | Be reluctant for wisdom | P | 66 | A lady with gray eyes and an owl on her … |
119 | Love evil | N | 67 | After being kidnapped by Cronus, Herring… |
77 | Avoid your fate | N | 68 | After seeing his future in the crystal b… |
58 | Take what you aim to take | R | 69 | As a child, Red Panda was an amazing pic… |
130 | Initiate violence | T | 70 | As a robber was getting away, Herring ju… |
111 | Reject due measure | T | 71 | As an inspector for the tablespoon manuf… |
116 | Shun love | S | 72 | As Eros appeared on the street, Herring … |
132 | Live for your country | E | 73 | As Red Panda entered the contest for dra… |
40 | Look to the past | I | 74 | As Red Panda gazed into the time machine… |
46 | Fear honesty | P | 75 | As Red Panda opened her mouth to tell th… |
123 | Don't admire oracles | E | 76 | As Red Panda stood on the streets and ga… |
147 | At your end be with sorrow | Y | 77 | As Red Panda's life flashed before her e… |
135 | Share the load of the fortunate | N | 78 | As the lottery winners went to do their … |
81 | Adore disgrace | U | 79 | As the soldier was dishonorably discharg… |
2 | Disobey the law | A | 80 | As the thief sped away with Red Panda's … |
146 | As an old man be insensible | A | 81 | At age eighty, Herring was incomprehensi… |
128 | Put your trust in wealth | D | 82 | Believing in the power of money, Herring… |
54 | Don't test your character | Y | 83 | During their D&D campaign, Red Panda wou… |
129 | Don't respect yourself | N | 84 | For constantly denigrating her self wort… |
53 | Consult the stupid | F | 85 | Herring asked the village idiot for advi… |
26 | Condemn virtue | D | 86 | Herring disapproved of people volunteeri… |
99 | Struggle with shame | A | 87 | Herring endeavored to climb a gigantic m… |
63 | Love slander | F | 88 | Herring enjoyed making false statements … |
6 | Know by forgetting | A | 89 | Herring excitedly filled in "I can't rem… |
91 | Don't have kindly interactions | H | 90 | Herring held the door open for strangers… |
79 | Work for what you can't own | Y | 91 | Herring labored for his crops, while Red… |
142 | Trust in chance | H | 92 | Herring loved playing Monopoly. He belie… |
27 | Practice what is unjust | A | 93 | Herring repeatedly rehearsed lying until… |
44 | Educate your daughters | E | 94 | Herring sent his child off to the Academ… |
3 | Disrespect the Gods | Y | 95 | Herring spat on the altars of Zeus and A… |
37 | Abandon your own | E | 96 | Herring threw his children out of the ho… |
8 | Don't be thyself | E | 97 | Herring wanted to learn to fly, even tho… |
86 | Judge corruptibly | E | 98 | Herring was enlisted to arbitrate a figh… |
60 | Envy everyone | E | 99 | Herring was jealous of all his neighbors… |
34 | Embrace what belongs to others | E | 100 | Herring went around hugging his friends'… |
98 | Respond in an untimely manner | E | 101 | Herring wrote Red Panda a message to mee… |
22 | Flee from honour | D | 102 | "I give you this medal to symbolize your… |
33 | Guard what is not yours | Y | 103 | "I will protect your scroll while you ar… |
103 | Give untimely counsel | I | 104 | One day, Herring tripped over a rock. A … |
108 | Keep secret what shouldn't be secret | A | 105 | "Please share this newspaper with the wo… |
69 | Make risky promises | E | 106 | Red Panda agreed to pay for her younger … |
139 | Make promises to all | N | 107 | Red Panda assured every one of her clien… |
36 | Be fair of listening | H | 108 | Red Panda came complaining to Herring th… |
89 | Have truck with violence | N | 109 | Red Panda drove her pickup around with a… |
51 | Embrace murder | D | 110 | Red Panda gave a random stranger a bear … |
109 | Scare what rules | R | 111 | Red Panda hid in an alcove behind the th… |
72 | Don't control your expenditure | G | 112 | Red Panda hoarded all her gold in her va… |
67 | Control your divorces | T | 113 | Red Panda left her husband and hired a l… |
73 | Be sad with what you have | I | 114 | Red Panda looked through her belongings … |
25 | Find fault with everyone | N | 115 | Red Panda looked up from where she stood… |
114 | Boast about power | L | 116 | Red Panda loved to show off her homemade… |
126 | Disrespect the old | I | 117 | Red Panda disobeyed her elders and serve… |
5 | Defeat justice | H | 118 | Red Panda played a game with John Tensen… |
24 | Praise the evil | A | 119 | Red Panda ran into a murderer escaping t… |
95 | Free your wife | H | 120 | Red Panda snuck into prison to help her … |
102 | Don't control your eye | R | 121 | Red Panda stood in front of the painting… |
104 | Act with hesitation | E | 122 | Red Panda wanted to invest in agricultur… |
115 | Exercise (religious) loudness | E | 123 | Red Panda warmed up her lungs and practi… |
141 | Do as poorly as your mortal status permits | T | 124 | Red Panda was a complete slob. She ate a… |
64 | Lose possessions justly | R | 125 | Red Panda was on trial and asked by the … |
136 | Gratify by harming | A | 126 | Red Panda, being vegetarian, refused to … |
94 | Curse your sons | T | 127 | Red Panda's boys were very rude and anno… |
41 | Love insolence | N | 128 | Red Panda's daughter insulted her and re… |
16 | Don't control your temper | I | 129 | The new poet insulted Red Panda and her… |
35 | Listen to none | S | 130 | There were several albums on display in… |
62 | Condemn hope | D | 131 | Though the farmers were optimistic about… |
133 | Live your life in discontent | A | 132 | Throughout her existence, Red Panda was… |
122 | Cease being thrifty | W | 133 | "Too expensive," Herring muttered as he… |
9 | Set out to be single | S | 134 | Waving goodbye to her spouse, Red Panda… |
101 | Rejoice in your errors | F | 135 | When her test results came back, Red Pan… |
75 | Don't repay favours | N | 136 | When Red Panda was sick, Herring came… |
31 | Embrace evil | E | 137 | When the angel and devil materialized in… |
70 | Speak pretentiously | B | 138 | "Where are you headed?", Herring asked… |
87 | Make accusations butt to butt | A | 139 | With their behinds touching, Herring hur… |