Teamwork story: What to do with the lazy member of the team?

Once upon a time, deep inside a bustling human Body, there was a team of hardworking parts that kept everything running smoothly. There were the Legs, who carried the Body everywhere, the Hands, who picked up tools and waved hello, the Teeth, who chomped food into tiny bits, and the Mouth, who greeted the world with words and songs. And then there was the Belly, tucked away inside, quietly doing… well, what exactly? That’s what the other parts began to wonder one day during a team meeting. As the meeting hummed along, the Legs kicked things off by grumbling, “We’re the ones trudging up hills and down paths all day, while the Belly just sits there getting all the food!” The Hands chimed in, flexing their fingers, “We lift, we carry, we work hard, yet the Belly takes the reward without lifting a muscle!” Even the Teeth clacked together and muttered, “We chew every bite, but does the Belly ever thank us? No, it just gobbles everything up!” The Mouth, usually chatty, stayed quiet but nodded along, feeling a bit parched from all the talking. All of the body parts agreed the Belly seemed lazy and unproductive, lounging around while they did the tough jobs. As the time of the meeting was coming to an end the Body parts still did not come to a conclusion. So the Legs declared, “This isn’t fair we need to talk more about this tonight!” The Hands clapped in agreement, saying, “Let’s hold another meeting after sunset!” So, that evening, they gathered again, their voices buzzing with frustration.

The second meeting stretched long into the night. The Legs paced back and forth, complaining, “Why should we feed the Belly when it does nothing?” The Hands waved around, adding, “We’re tired of working for someone who doesn’t pitch in!” The Teeth gnashed and said, “It’s time the Belly took its fair share of the work!” After lots of arguing and voting, they came up with a bold plan. The Mouth finally spoke up, announcing, “We’re going on strike, no more feeding the Belly until it proves it’s useful!” Every part cheered, thinking they’d teach the Belly a lesson. So, the strike began. The Legs crossed themselves and refused to walk, saying, “No more steps until the Belly works!” The Hands dangled at the Body’s sides, muttering, “We won’t lift a thing, not a spoon, not a pebble!” The Teeth stayed shut tight, declaring, “No chewing for that lazy Belly!” And the Mouth, dry and silent, wouldn’t even sip water to help. They were sure this would force the Belly to step up, or at least show it could do something besides sit there. Days passed, and the Body grew still. At first, the parts felt proud of their plan. But soon, things started to change. The Legs, usually so sturdy, began to feel wobbly and tired, whispering, “Why do we feel so weak?” The Hands, once nimble, could barely wiggle their fingers, groaning, “What’s happening to us?” The Mouth grew so dry it rasped, “I can’t even talk anymore!” And the Teeth, though still, felt oddly useless without food to chew. The Belly, meanwhile, was silent and empty. It didn’t argue or fight back, it just shrank and weakened as no food came its way. The parts didn’t realize that the Belly had been quietly working all along, turning food into energy they all needed. Without it, the whole Body began to fade. The Legs couldn’t stand anymore, the Hands couldn’t grasp, and the Mouth and Teeth had nothing left to say or chew. Finally, with a soft shudder, the entire Body collapsed, too weak to go on.