Two Stupid Children
[Foolishness]
44-45
Long ago,
there was an old carpenter with a shiny, bald head. On sunny days, his bald
pate shined so brightly that people shaded their eyes when talking to him! On
one particularly sunny day, a hungry mosquito was attracted to the old
carpenter’s bright shiny pate. It landed on his head and started biting.
The
carpenter was busy smoothing a piece of wood with a plane when he felt the
mosquito bite. He tried to chase it away. But the hungry mosquito would not
leave. So, the man called his son over and asked him to get rid of the stubborn
pest. The son was not a bright boy. But he was hardworking and obedient. “Don’t
worry Dad, be patient. I’ll kill that bug with just one blow!” he said.
The son
picked up a very sharp axe. He took careful aim at the mosquito. Without thinking
twice, he came down with the axe and split the mosquito into two!
Unfortunately, after slicing through the mosquito, the axe also split the old
carpenter’s shiny bald head into two.
Meanwhile,
an adviser to the king happened to be passing by with his followers. They saw what
had happened, and were stunned that anyone could be so stupid!
“Do not be
surprised by human stupidity! This reminds me of a similar event that
occurred
just yesterday,” said the king’s adviser. In a village not far from here, a
woman
was cleaning
rice. She was pounding it in a mortar with a pestle to separate the husks.
As she was
perspiring, a swarm of flies began buzzing around her head. She tried
to chase
them away, but the flies would not leave.
She called
her daughter over and asked her to shoo away the bothersome insects.
Although she
was a rather foolish girl, the daughter always tried her best to please
her mother. So
she stood up from her own mortar, raised her pestle, and took careful aim at
the biggest and boldest of the flies. Without thinking, she pounded the fly to
death! But of course, the same blow that killed the fly, also ended her
mother’s life. “You all know what they say,” said the adviser, finishing his
story, “With friends like these, who needs enemies!”
The moral is
✏ a wise enemy is less dangerous than a foolish friend.
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