BBN (Bhumel Broadcasting Network)

The Wise Fool and the Foolish Wise    

 

an anonymous story

 

By fooling others, we  may be fooled

 

 

 In a remote village, there was a poor simpleton who lived off running errands for others. Villagers used to fool him and play all sort of tricks and jokes on him.

 

 Daily, they called him to the village bar and there in front of all the customers, they asked him to choose between two coins:  one, a peso that was small in size and the other of 50 cents that was much bigger in size. 

 

 They and the bystanders were highly amused when our poor simpleton regularly chose the bigger coin that was of lesser value.

One day, an outsider that saw how those unkind people were fooling the poor and simple man, called him apart and asked him: “Have you not realized that the bigger coin is of less value than the smaller one?”

 

 Our simpleton replied: “Of course, I did, I am not such a fool!”  “Then”, the outsider asked him: “why do you always choose the bigger coin?”

 

 With a wink in his eye, the foolish man replied: “You know, I am just fooling them. …  If I were to choose the smaller coin, their fooling would stop,   and so, the   source of my daily income!” 

 

 

 

 

 The story could end here just like a mere joke but it is not

Take Notice of  the lessons the story teaches us

 

 Not all foolish-looking people are really so

 Not all the wise are really wise

 In life, who is being fooled? 

 Don’t take it for granted that you are wise!

 Wisdom is not the same as knowledge

 Wisdom is not the privilege of the rich and the learned  

 

 

© 2012 Gujarat Sahitya Prakash All Rights Reserved