THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT
There were once six blind men in India, who stood by the roadside every day, begging from the people who passed. They had often heard of elephants, but they had never seen one; for being blind, how could they?
It so happened one morning that an elephant was being driven down the road where they stood begging. 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. For, you see, they trusted their own sense of touch very much.
The first happened to put his hand on the elephant's side. "Well," he said, "now I know all about this beast. He is like a wall."
The second felt about the elephant's tusk. "My brother," he said, "you are quite mistaken. He is not at all like a wall. He is round and smooth and sharp. He is more like a spear than anything else."
The third happened to take hold of the elephant's trunk, "both of you are entirely wrong," he said. "Anybody who knows anything can see that this elephant is like a snake."
The fourth reached out his arms, and grasped one of the elephant's legs. "Oh, how blind you are!" he said. "It is very plain to me that he is round and tall like a tree."
The fifth, being a very tall man, happened to take hold of the elephant's ear. "The blindest man ought to know that this elephant is not like any of the things you name," he said. "He is exactly like a huge fan."
The sixth was very blind indeed, and it was some time before he could find the elephant at all. At last he got hold of the elephant's tail. "Oh, silly fellows!" he said. "You surely have lost your senses. The elephant is not like a wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a tree; neither is he like a fan. But any man with a little sense can see that he is exactly like a rope."
Then the driver and the elephant moved on, and the six men sat by the roadside all day quarrelling about the elephant. Each believed that he knew just what the beast looked like; and they called each other names because they could not agree.
It is not just blind men who make such silly mistakes. People who have eyes sometimes act just as foolishly when they take a one-sided view of things.
瞎子和大象
從前，印度有六個盲人，每天都站在路邊向過往行人乞討。他們常聽人說起大象，但從未見過；因為是盲人，怎麼看得見呢？
一天上午，碰巧有人趕著一頭大象經過他們行乞的那條路。當他們得知大象已走到身前時，就請趕象人把大象停下來，好讓他們看看。
當然，他們無法親眼看見大象，但是可以用手觸摸，從而瞭解大象到底是什麼樣的動物。你知道，他們十分相信自己的觸覺。
第一個盲人碰巧摸到了大象的身上，便說道：“噢，我現在完全瞭解大象了，大象很像一堵高牆。”
第二個盲人摸了摸象牙，說道：“老兄，你大錯特錯了，大象又圓，又光，又尖，根本不像高牆，把它比作長矛，再合適不過了。”
第三個盲人碰巧抓住了大象的鼻子，說道：“你們兩位都不對，稍有常識的人都會知道這頭大象像條蛇。”
第四個盲人伸出雙臂，抱住了一條象腿，說道：“唉，你們真是有眼無珠，我現在才清楚，大象又圓又高，像棵樹。”
第五個盲人身材高大，一下子就抓到了大象耳朵。說道：“再瞎的人也不會不知道，這頭大象一點也不像你們說的。它實在就像一把巨大的扇子。”
第六個盲人實在太瞎了，過了好半天才摸到象。最後他抓住了大象的尾巴，說道：“嘿，蠢貨，你們真糊塗。大象既不像高牆、長矛、蛇、大樹，也不像扇子，稍有理性的人就會知道，它很像條繩子。”
隨後，趕象的人和大象繼續往前走去，這六個盲人一整天都坐在路邊為大象的事爭吵不休，每人都認為只有自己瞭解大象。由於不能統一看法，他們就相互謾罵起來。
犯這種愚蠢錯誤的，不僅僅是盲人。即使有視力的正常人有時也片面地看問題，他們一點也不比這幾個盲人聰明。
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