The fourth reached out his arms, and grasped one of the elephant's
legs. "Oh, how blind you are!" he said. "It is very plain to me that
he is round and tall like a tree."
The fifth was a very tall man, and he chanced to take hold of the
elephant's ear. "The blind-est man ought to know that this beast is
not like any of the things that you name," he said. "He is ex-act-ly
like a huge fan."
The sixth was very blind indeed, and it was some time before he could
find the elephant at all. At last he seized the animal's tail. "O
foolish fellows!" he cried. "You surely have lost your senses. This
elephant is not like a wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a tree;
neither is he like a fan. But any man with a par-ti-cle of sense can
see that he is exactly like a rope."
Then the elephant moved on, and the six blind men sat by the roadside
all day, and quar-reled about him. Each believed that he knew just how
the animal looked; and each called the others hard names because they
did not agree with him. People who have eyes sometimes act as
foolishly.
MAXIMILIAN AND THE GOOSE BOY.
One summer day King Max-i-mil'ian of Ba-va'ri-a was walking in the
country. The sun shone hot, and he stopped under a tree to rest.
It was very pleasant in the cool shade. The king lay down on the soft
grass, and looked up at the white clouds sailing across the sky. Then
he took a little book from his pocket and tried to read.
But the king could not keep his mind on his book. Soon his eyes
closed, and he was fast asleep.
It was past noon when he awoke. He got up from his grassy bed, and
looked around. Then he took his cane in his hand, and started for
home.
When he had walked a mile or more, he happened to think of his book.
He felt for it in his pocket. It was not there. He had left it under
the tree.
The king was already quite tired, and he did not like to walk back so
far. But he did not wish to lose the book. What should he do?
If there was only some one to send for it!
While he was thinking, he happened to see a little bare-foot-ed boy in
the open field near the road. He was tending a large flock of geese
that were picking the short grass, and wading in a shallow brook.
The king went toward the boy. He held a gold piece in his hand.
"My boy," he said, "how would you like to have this piece of money?"
"I would like it," said the boy; "but I never hope to have so much."
"You shall have it if you will run back to the oak tree at the second
turning of the road, and fetch me the book that I left there."
The king thought that the boy would be pleased. But not so. He turned
away, and said, "I am not so silly as you think."
"What do you mean?" said the king. "Who says that you are silly?"
"Well," said the boy, "you think that I am silly enough to believe
that you will give me that gold piece for running a mile, and
fetch-ing you a book. You can't catch me."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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