Warm dust rose softly along the village path as six blind men walked together, tapping their sticks on the ground. The sun was bright, and the air buzzed with quiet chatter.
“I heard a giant animal has come,” said one man with a curious smile.
“Yes,” said another. “They call it an elephant.”
The men paused. None of them had ever seen or touched an elephant before.
“Let us go and find out what it is like,” one of them said.
And so, step by step, they followed the sounds of people and reached the place where the elephant stood.
The elephant was calm and still. Its large body cast a cool shadow on the ground. A gentle breeze moved past it, and its ears flapped slowly.
One by one, the men stepped forward.
The first man reached out and touched the elephant’s leg. His hands moved up and down the rough, strong surface.
“It is like a pillar,” he said with confidence.
The second man stretched his hands forward and touched the trunk. It moved slightly under his fingers.
“No, no,” he said quickly. “It is like a snake!”
The third man felt the elephant’s wide ear. It brushed softly against his hands.
“You are both wrong,” he said. “It is like a big fan.”
The fourth man placed both hands on the elephant’s side. He pressed gently against the broad, solid body.
“It feels like a wall,” he said firmly.
The fifth man picked up the tail. It swayed lightly in his hand.
“This is simple,” he said. “The elephant is like a rope.”
The sixth man touched one of the tusks. It was smooth and hard, pointing forward.
“You are all mistaken,” he said. “It is like a spear.”
The men stepped back, shaking their heads.
“No, you are wrong!” said one.
“I felt it clearly!” said another.
Their voices grew louder. The calm air filled with sharp words as each man tried to prove he was right.
“I know what I felt!”
“So do I!”
“You must be mistaken!”
The elephant stood quietly as the men argued beside it.
“We must listen to each other,” one man said, but his voice was lost in the noise.
Just then, a wise passerby walked along the path. He heard the loud voices and stopped.
“What is happening here?” he asked gently.
The men turned toward him and spoke all at once, each telling his own idea of the elephant.
The passerby listened carefully, nodding his head.
Then he smiled.
“You are all right,” he said calmly. “But each of you has touched only one part of the elephant.”
The men grew quiet.
“To understand the whole,” the wise man continued, “you must listen to each other.”
The words settled softly in the air.
The men stood still, thinking.
“We must listen to each other,” one of them said again, this time more slowly.
They began to talk, one by one, sharing what they had felt.
“A strong pillar…”
“A moving snake…”
“A wide fan…”
“A solid wall…”
“A thin rope…”
“A sharp spear…”
As they listened, their faces softened.
Slowly, they began to understand.
All the parts fit together.
The pillar, the snake, the fan, the wall, the rope, and the spear were all part of one great animal.
The elephant.
The men smiled gently, their argument fading away.
The elephant stood quietly in the warm sun, its ears moving softly in the breeze.
“We must listen to each other,” one man said with a calm voice.
And this time, they all agreed.
Moral of the Story
We may each see only part of the truth. To understand the whole, we must listen to others.
Think and Answer
- Why did the blind men go to see the elephant?
- What did each man think the elephant was like?
- Why did the men start arguing?
- What did the wise passerby teach them?
Word Power
Elephant
A very large animal with a trunk and big ears
Trunk
The long, flexible nose of an elephant
Tusk
A long, hard tooth that grows from an elephant’s mouth
Pillar
A tall, strong support like a column
Wise
Having knowledge and good judgment
Leave a Reply