The Blind Men and the Elephant
Six men who could not see went to learn what an elephant was, and each learned a different thing
Page 1
Long ago, in a town in India, there lived six wise men who were all blind. For days they had argued about the magnificent elephant that everyone was talking about. Their town square was the only place they could gather. "What can this 'elephant' be?" asked the second man. "They say it is powerful enough to tear up a tree." "Nonsense," said the third, waving his hand. "I hear it is gentle, like a leaf in the wind." Finally, the first and boldest of them tapped his stick on the dusty ground for silence. "Enough of this talk!" he declared. "We listen to rumor when we should be seeking knowledge. We will go and see this elephant for ourselves!" The others murmured their agreement, and a decision was made. They would go and discover the truth.
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So the six men set out, walking in a long line on the dusty road out of town. The sun was hot on their backs. "The journey feels long," said the sixth man, his voice thin with age. "I hope this creature is worth our trouble." "Of course it is!" replied the fifth man, his pace quickening so that he almost bumped the man ahead. "Imagine the knowledge we will gain! We will be the wisest men in the land." The fourth man, who was strong and steady, nodded his head. "I am sure it will be a huge and powerful beast," he said, his deep voice carrying on the still air. "Something to be respected. Let us walk faster." And so they continued, a strange procession of seekers, their sticks tapping a rhythm on the hard-packed earth.
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Their path led them to a shallow stream crossed by a narrow wooden bridge with a single rope rail. The air smelled of wet earth and green reeds. "Perhaps it is like a great lizard!" the third man suggested, waving his free hand and nearly losing his balance. "Quick and low to the ground!" "Be serious," grumbled the sixth man, tapping his way carefully over a loose plank. "They say it is immense. It could be dangerous, and you are acting like a child." "Patience, my friends," called the second man from the front of the line, his hand on the rope. "Arguing will not show us the truth. We will know it soon enough when we get there." They fell silent for a moment, listening only to the sound of the water flowing over the smooth stones below.
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At last, a village keeper led them to a clearing by a river where the elephant stood. "Be gentle, wise ones," the keeper said softly. "He is calm." The first man, the boldest, walked straight forward until his hands met something immense and solid. He ran his palms over the broad, rough surface, his head tilted back as if to grasp its scale. "Incredible!" he whispered, his voice full of awe. "It is wider than any wall in our town." After a moment, he turned back to his friends, his face shining with the confidence of absolute discovery. "My friends!" he cried, his voice booming across the clearing. "I have the truth! This creature is nothing more than a great, strong wall!" He patted the elephant's side firmly, his mind made up.
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As the elephant moved into the shade of a banyan tree, the first man shouted again. "Did you not hear me? It is a wall, I tell you!" The second man ignored him and stepped forward. His hands reached out and found something long, smooth, and sharp. "This is no wall," he murmured, running his fingers along the hard, curved tusk. "It is round, and smooth, and sharp. It is a weapon." He felt it from base to tip, his calm face a picture of concentration. Then he turned to the others, his expression clear and certain. "My friend is mistaken," he announced. "It is perfectly clear to me that an elephant is a kind of spear." The first man opened his mouth to object, but the third man was already pushing past him.
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The third man hurried forward as the elephant foraged in some tall grass. "A snake? Are you mad?" the second man called after him. "It was as hard as bone!" Just then, a long, flexible thing wriggled through the air and touched the third man's shoulder. He yelped and jumped back. Then, laughing, he reached out and grabbed the muscular trunk as it moved in his grasp. "But this part is alive!" he exclaimed, feeling it twist and breathe. "It moves!" He let go and turned to the growing argument behind him, his face alight with triumphant discovery. "You are both wrong!" he shouted with excitement. "Anyone with sense can feel this is a living snake!" The argument behind him grew louder, but he did not care. He had found the real truth.
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The fourth man, strong and steady, pushed through the others. "You haven't even felt it!" the third man was shouting. "It's a snake, I say!" The fourth man ignored him and approached the elephant as it stood in a shady bamboo grove. He put out his hands and found a pillar, tall, thick, and rough. "This is no snake," he said, his voice a low rumble. He tried to wrap his arms around it, planting his feet wide for leverage. "It is solid. It does not move. It is rooted to the earth." He patted the leg firmly, nodding with satisfaction. He turned his head and addressed them all with a booming voice that silenced their squabbling for a second. "It is clear this wonderful beast is very much like a tree!"
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"A tree!" the fourth man was insisting. "It is as solid as a tree!" The fifth man, quick and nimble, didn't wait. He darted forward to where the elephant was eating from a flowering bush. Suddenly, a great, leathery sheet swept through the air, creating a breeze on his face. He laughed and reached up to catch it. "A tree does not make a wind!" he shouted back at the others, holding the enormous, moving ear. "Feel this!" He turned to them, his face alight with his own perfect discovery, ready to prove them all wrong. "Even the blindest man should know this!" he declared triumphantly. "This marvel is nothing but a giant fan!" The shouts behind him redoubled as another theory was added to the chaos.
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The argument was now a storm of shouting. "It's a fan! I felt the breeze!" yelled the fifth man. "It's a wall! I felt its side!" bellowed the first. The sixth man, old and cautious, ignored them and made his way to the very end of the creature as the keeper began to lead it away. His searching hand found a thin, flexible thing hanging down, with a coarse tuft at the end. It swung like a pendulum as the elephant walked. He held it, puzzled. Then his face cleared. He raised his voice to be heard over the din. "You are all mad!" he said, his voice firm with certainty. "Stop your shouting! This elephant is clearly and simply a piece of rope."
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They argued all the way back to their town. "I tell you it is a wall, broad and high!" the first man insisted, stamping his stick. "You are the one who is blind!" the third man shot back, his voice shrill. "It is a living snake!" "A rope!" cried the sixth, his voice cracking with frustration. "It is nothing but a rope!" Their voices rose in a furious chorus. They arrived in the town square at sunset and their debate drew a crowd, but they didn't notice. Each man shouted his own truth and heard none of the others. They had set out to find knowledge together, but each had only found one small part of it, and in their stubbornness, they had all missed the whole.
About this story
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
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