How can you describe an elephant?
Once there were six blind men who lived in a village in India. One day they were talking to each other. The first man said, 'There is an elephant in the next village.'
'What's an elephant?' the second man asked.
The first man replied, 'I don't know.'
He asked all the other men but none of them knew. So they went to the next village to find out.
When they arrived the first blind man touched the elephant. He couldn't see it but he could feel it. He felt its trunk. 'An elephant is like a snake,' he said. 'It's long and it's rubbery.'
The second man touched the elephant. He couldn't see it but he could feel it. He felt its tusks. 'No, no -an elephant is like a knife' he said. 'It's sharp and it's smooth.'
When the third man touched the elephant he felt its ear. 'Now I know what an elephant is like' he exclaimed. 'It's like a leaf, big and flat.'
It was the fourth man's turn. He touched its leg.
'No, you are all wrong/ he cried. 'It's like a tree.It's round and hard.' , The fifth man felt the side of the elephant with his hand. 'It's just like a wall/ he said. 'It's high and it's wide.' He asked all the other men but none of them knew. So they went to the next village to find out.
When they arrived the first blind man touched the elephant. He couldn't see it but he could feel it. He felt its trunk. 'An elephant is like a snake,' he said. 'It's long and it's rubbery.'
The second man touched the elephant. He couldn't see it but he could feel it. He felt its tusks. 'No, no -an elephant is like a knife' he said. 'It's sharp and it's smooth.'
When the third man touched the elephant he felt its ear. 'Now I know what an elephant is like' he exclaimed. 'It's like a leaf, big and flat.'
It was the fourth man's turn. He touched its leg.
Lastly, the sixth man touched the elephant. He felt its tail. 'Well, I think it's like a rope. It's long and thin.' Each blind man had a different idea of what an elephant was like, and they began to argue. Each man thought that he was right.
The elephant got so fed up with the argument that he said, 'Excuse me. You are all partly right. My trunk is like a snake. And my tusks are like knives. My ears are like big leaves and my legs are like trees. My sides are like walls and my tail is like a rope. You should listen to each other, because you all have something useful to say. Then you will not need to argue.'
The elephant turned and walked away. The blind men felt very , foolish. They shook hands and promised to listen to each other in the future.
