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
从前，印度有六个盲人，每天都站在路边向过往行人乞讨。他们常听人说起大象，但从未见过；因为是盲人，怎么看得见呢？
一天上午，碰巧有人赶着一头大象经过他们行乞的那条路。当他们得知大象已走到身前时，就请赶象人把大象停下来，好让他们看看。
当然，他们无法亲眼看见大象，但是可以用手触摸，从而了解大象到底是什么样的动物。你知道，他们十分相信自己的触觉。
第一个盲人碰巧摸到了大象的身上，便说道：“噢，我现在完全了解大象了，大象很像一堵高墙。”
第二个盲人摸了摸象牙，说道：“老兄，你大错特错了，大象又圆，又光，又尖，根本不像高墙，把它比作长矛，再合适不过了。”
第三个盲人碰巧抓住了大象的鼻子，说道：“你们两位都不对，稍有常识的人都会知道这头大象像条蛇。”
第四个盲人伸出双臂，抱住了一条象腿，说道：“唉，你们真是有眼无珠，我现在才清楚，大象又圆又高，像棵树。”
第五个盲人身材高大，一下子就抓到了大象耳朵。说道：“再瞎的人也不会不知道，这头大象一点也不像你们说的。它实在就像一把巨大的扇子。”
第六个盲人实在太瞎了，过了好半天才摸到象。最后他抓住了大象的尾巴，说道：“嘿，蠢货，你们真糊涂。大象既不像高墙、长矛、蛇、大树，也不像扇子，稍有理性的人就会知道，它很像条绳子。”
随后，赶象的人和大象继续往前走去，这六个盲人一整天都坐在路边为大象的事争吵不休，每人都认为只有自己了解大象。由于不能统一看法，他们就相互谩骂起来。
犯这种愚蠢错误的，不仅仅是盲人。即使有视力的正常人有时也片面地看问题，他们一点也不比这几个盲人聪明。
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