A ship docked at an island on its way between two ports. The captain announced that he would weigh anchor at a set hour, and he warned the passengers that a bell would sound three times before departure. On the island there were fruits and gardens and pleasant shade. The passengers went ashore in five groups.
The first group would not set foot on the island at all. They feared a delay of any kind. They stayed on the ship, sitting on their benches, and they endured the long afternoon without tasting anything. When the vessel sailed, they had the best seats and the worst stories.
The second group went ashore briefly, ate a little fruit, wandered into the first gardens, and returned quickly to the ship. They sailed onward refreshed and satisfied, with their places secure and their appetite for the voyage sharpened.
The third group lingered. When the first bell rang, they looked up. When the second bell rang, they began to hurry back. They arrived just as the sailors were lifting the anchor. In the confusion, many lost their original seats, and the rest of the voyage was less comfortable than it might have been.
The fourth group was worse. They heard the first bell and thought, "The sails are still being set. A few more minutes." They heard the second bell and thought, "The captain will not leave without us." They stayed until they saw the ship moving out of the harbor, then swam after it in a panic and scrambled up the sides, collecting bruises and injuries they carried for the rest of the voyage.
The fifth group never returned. They ate and drank so deeply that they did not even hear the bells. The ship sailed without them. The wild beasts found some of them in the thickets, and those who escaped the beasts perished from the poison of too much pleasure. The parable is preserved in the old midrashic collections as a teaching on teshuvah. This world is the island. The ship is waiting. The bells have already begun to ring.