Wisemen of ancient times ingeniously discovered how to tell people the truthwithout being blunt to their faces. You see， they held a magic mirror before the people， in which all sorts of animals and various wondrous things appeared， producing amusing as well as instructive pictures. They calledthese fables， and whatever wise or foolish deeds theanimals performed， the people were to imaginethemselves in their places and thereby think， “Thisfable is intended for you！” In this way no one'sfeelings were hurt. Let us give you an example.
There were two high mountains， and at the top of eachstood a castle. In the valley below ran a hungry dog，sniffing along the ground as if in search of mice or quail. Suddenly a trumpetsounded from one of the castles， to announce thatmealtime was approaching. The dog immediately started running up the mountain， hoping to get his share； but when he washalfway up， the trumpeter ceased blowing， and a trumpet from the other castle commenced. “Up here，” thought the dog， “they will have finished eating before I arrive， but over there they are just getting ready to eat.” So he ran down， and up the other mountain.But now the first trumpet started again， while thesecond stopped. The dog ran down again， and up again； and this he continued until both trumpets stopped blowing， and the meals were over in both castles.
Now guess what the wise men of ancienttimes would have said about this fable， and who the fool could be who runs himself raggedwithout gaining anything， either here or there？
联系客服
