The Story Of The Idiot And The Jug

Mariam Ispahani (mariam@skypoint.com)
25 May 1995 00:35:04 GMT

The Story Of The Idiot And The Jug

An idiot may be the name given to the ordinary person - whether female or
male, who consistently misinterprets what happens to them, what they do, or
what is brought about by others. They do this so completely plausibly that,
for themselves and others their thoughts seem logical and true.

An idiot of this kind was sent one day with a pitcher to a wise man, to
collect some sharbat or juice. On the way, the idiot through his own
heedlessness, smashed the jar against a rock.

When he arrived at the house of the wise man, he presented him with the
handle of the pitcher and said, "Saad Mirza, of the neighboring village sent
you this pitcher, but a horrid stone stole it from me."

Amused and wishing to test his coherence, the wise man asked, "Since the
pitcher is stolen, why do you offer me the handle?"

"I am not such a fool as people say," the idiot told him, "and therefore, I
have brought the handle to prove my story!"

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Note: This story is from a dervish collection attributed to Pir-i-do-Sara,
"The Wearer of the Patchwork Robe," who died in 1790 and is buried at
Mazar-i-Sharif in Turkestan. It is narrated in "Tales of the Dervishes" by
Idries Shah.

Regards,
Mariam Ispahani...(*_*)

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