A man was terrified of his own shadow and loathed his own footprints. Desperate to escape them, he began to run.
The faster he ran, the more footprints he left behind. The more frantically he fled, the more closely his shadow seemed to chase him. Mistaking the cause, he believed he simply wasn't running fast enough and redoubled his efforts. In the end, he collapsed and died of exhaustion on the road.
He never realized that by stepping into the shade, his shadow would vanish. By standing still, no new footprints would be made. How foolish he was!