The Blind Men and the Elephant (1)

The Blind Men and the Elephant (1)

Long ago and far away, there lived a six blind men.
Although these men could not see, they learned about the world in many ways.

They could hear the music of the flute with their ears.

They could feel the softness of silk with their fingers.

They could smell the scent of food cooking and taste its spicy flavor.



Together they took care of their home in a small village and they were very happy.

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The Blind Men and the Elephant (2)

The Blind Men and the Elephant (2)

Then one day, the villagers told them, "Hey, the Prince had received a new elephant at his palace."

They had no idea what an elephant is.
The blind men had heard of an elephant, but they had never met one.

They decided, "Even though we would not be able to see it, let us go to the Prince's palace and feel it anyway. Then we can find out what the elephant is really like.  "

All of them went off to the Prince's palace.
It was a long walk to the palace. The blind men grew hot and thirsty.

But they did not stop.
They could not wait to touch the elephant.

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The Blind Men and the Elephant (3)

The Blind Men and the Elephant (3)

Finally they reached the palace.

A guard came to greet them.
The blind men told him why they had come.

" Of course you may see and touch the elephant, " said the guard.
" I'm sure the prince would not mind. "

The guard led the six blind men to the animal, which stood quietly in the palace garden.



The first blind man touched the elephant's side of belly.
" It is strong and wide, " he thought.
" I think an elephant is like a huge wall. "

The second blind man touched the elephant's long, round trunk.
"Oh, no! it is like a thick branch of a tree, " he cried.

The third blind man grabbed the elephant's smooth ivory tusk.
" Why, an elephant is as sharp as a spear. It is like a solid pipe. "

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The Blind Men and the Elephant (4)

The Blind Men and the Elephant (4)

The forth blind man touched the elephant's leg. 
"Hey, the elephant is a pillar. It's as round and firm as a tree," said the forth man.

The fifth blind man held the elephant's ear.
The ear was very big and the elephant flapped it gently.
" It's just like a big hand fan, "said the fifth man.  

The sixth blind man touched the elephant's long, thin tail.
"Oh, no! it is like a rope," said the sixth man.

They began to argue about the elephant and everyone of them insisted that he was right.
It looked like they were getting agitated.

By now, it was midday.
The sun burned hot in the sky.

" Stop the arguing. Why don't you rest under the shadow of tree ? I will bring you some water," the guard said to them and took them over to a tall, shady tree.

While they waited, the six blind men talked about the elephant again.

"No one told me that the elephant is like a wall, " said the first man.

" A wall ? " said the second man. " Oh, no. It is like a snake. "

The third man shook his head.
" An elephant is clearly like a spear. "

" What ? " said the fourth man. "An elephant is like a pillar as round and firm as a tree. "

" You are all wrong. An elephant is certainly like a big hand fan, " said the fifth man.

" No, it is like a rope, " yelled the sixth blind man. 

Everyone of them insisted that he was right. 
The sound of angry voices filled the garden.   

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The Blind Men and the Elephant (5 完)

The Blind Men and the Elephant (5 完)

" A wall !, " " A snake ! , " " A spear !, " A tree ! ", " A fan ! ", " A rope ! " 
It was the sound of six blind men fighting about the elephant.

The Prince was passed by and he saw this.
He stopped and asked them, "What is the matter?"

" We are sorry, his Majesty." said the first blind man.
" But We cannot agree to what the elephant is like."

Each one of them told what he thought the elephant was like.
" We each touched the same animal. But to each of us the elephant is completely different.

The Prince calmly explained to them, " The elephant is a very large animal. All of you are right, but wrong too.The reason every one of you is telling it differently because each one of you touched only one part of the elephant. Its side is like a wall. Its trunk is like a snake.Its tusk are like a spears. Its legs are like trees. Its ears are like fans. And its tail is like a rope. So,  actually to know what an elephant is really like, you must put all those parts together"

"Oh!" everyone said.
They thought about the prince's words.
Then, there was no more fight.

" I will tell you something more about the elephant, " said the Prince.
" It is very good to ride on. Now you will ride on my elephant all the way home. "

So they did.
They all felt happy.   

※※
The moral of the story is that there may be some truth to what someone says.
Sometimes we can see that truth and sometimes not because they may have different perspective which we may not agree too.

So, rather than arguing like the blind men, we should say, "Maybe you have your reasons."
This way we don’t get in arguments. It teaches us to be tolerant towards others for their viewpoints.

（５/５ 完）