Ka Padaret Vienam Is Maziausiuju Broliu -
“We must find a new stream,” Rudas declared. “We must fight the beavers upstream,” said Pilkas. “They have dammed something poisonous.”
In a deep, whispering forest, there lived three wolf brothers. The eldest, Rudas, was swift and fierce. The middle, Pilkas, was clever and strong. The youngest, Mažius, was so small and quiet that the elders often forgot he was there. ka padaret vienam is maziausiuju broliu
But Mažius wasn’t drinking. He was carrying water, one mouthful at a time, to a small, parched oak sapling on the other side of the clearing. The sapling’s leaves were curled, its bark dry. “We must find a new stream,” Rudas declared
They argued for three days, growing weaker. On the fourth morning, Mažius was gone. The eldest, Rudas, was swift and fierce
One autumn, a great sickness came to the forest. The Stream of Clear Water, the only source of drink for miles, turned bitter and dark. The deer left. The rabbits hid. Rudas and Pilkas returned from their hunts with empty bellies and dull eyes.
“Stay by the den,” Rudas would growl before a hunt. “You are too small to run with us.” “The deer will trample you,” Pilkas would add, not unkindly, but with a sigh.
Rudas laughed, a dry, rasping sound. “One year? We will be dead in one week.”

This is helpful! Over the summer I will be working on a novel, and I already know there will be days where my creativity will be at a low, so I'll keep these techniques in mind for when that time comes. The idea of all fiction as metaphors is something I never thought of but rings true. I'll have to do more research into that aspect of metaphor! Also, what work does Eric and Marshall McLuhan talk specifically about metaphor? I'm curious...
I just read Byung-Chul Han's latest, "The Crisis of Narration." Definitely worth a look if you're interested in the subject, and a great intro to his work if you've not yet read him.