Prev | Current Page 99 | Next

Baldwin, James, 1841-1925

"Fifty Famous Stories Retold"

I can listen to it
no longer. Take my daughter; be my heir; rule my kingdom. But do not
let me hear another word about those horrible locusts!"
And so the strange story-teller married the king's daughter. And he
lived happily in the land for many years. But his father-in-law, the
king, did not care to listen to any more stories.


THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT.

There were once six blind men who stood by the road-side every day,
and begged from the people who passed. They had often heard of
el-e-phants, but they had never seen one; for, being blind, how could
they?
It so happened one morning that an el-e-phant was driven down the road
where they stood. When they were told that the great beast was before
them, they asked the driver to let him stop so that they might see
him.
Of course they could not see him with their eyes; but they thought
that by touching him they could learn just what kind of animal he was.
The first one happened to put his hand on the elephant's side. "Well,
well!" he said, "now I know all about this beast. He is ex-act-ly like
a wall."
The second felt only of the elephant's tusk. "My brother," he said,
"you are mistaken. He is not at all like a wall. He is round and
smooth and sharp.


Pages:
87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111