
The Truth Is Out There
After journeying on foot for many hours the three travellers were extremely weary and very much in need of rest. Seeing a cave a short distance away they all decided it would provide them with a safe place to spend the night and began to walk excitedly towards it. As they got closer to the entrance, however, their excitement began to wane slightly.
“What if there’s something dangerous living in there” one of them remarked.
“Like what?” another one asked.
“A Bear perhaps” came the swift reply.
For a short while they each just stood there looking at one-another; as if they were expecting someone other than themselves to go and check it out. When it became obvious that a volunteer wasn’t forthcoming they decided to draw straws; in order to establish which of them would check to see if the cave was indeed safe.
Following the short ceremony of choosing a straw, accompanied by claims of unfairness, the unlucky individual nervously entered the cave; where, after taking only a few short steps, quickly disappeared from sight .
Some minutes later he re-emerged looking somewhat pale, anxious and frightened. It was clear that something had caused him great concern.
“We can’t go in there.” he blurted out. “It’s occupied by an enormous snake….”
“I was lucky to escape with my life.” he continued.
While he was explaining how it had wrapped itself around him, with a view to devouring him, a look of deep dismay appeared on the faces of his companions. Suddenly one of them interrupted him.
“There are no snakes in this region.” he declared; having remembered something that he had read some years earlier.
“I know what I experienced and it was most definitely a snake.” the returning companion insisted.
As their arguing seemed unable to resolve the matter it was decided that a second opinion was needed; which meant someone else would have to enter the cave. Desperate to prove he was right about there being no snakes in the region it was clear who should next enter the cave.
When he re-emerged he did so in a calm and dignified manner.
“I knew it…” he said rather smugly. “It wasn’t a snake at all…. Just a rather thick piece of rope hanging from the ceiling.”
“How can you be sure?” demanded the first to enter.
“Because I felt the end of the rope and it was frayed” came the reply; somewhat matter-of-factly.
When it became obvious that the two weren’t going to agree the third person decided it was time for him to enter the cave; in the hope of determining who was correct.
He emerged a short time later laughing aloud and wearing a big smile on his face. The others immediately ceased their discussion and waited open-mouthed to hear what the verdict was.
“It’s a tree…” he chuckled. “I clearly felt the bark on the trunk of the tree and wrapped my arms around its girth”
“Then how do you explain what we experienced?” demanded the others.
“Easy.” said the third. “Both the snake and the rope must have been nothing more than a vine hanging from one of its branches.”
As the three continued to argue among themselves another traveller came onto the scene. Keen to find out what they were arguing about he asked them if they would be kind enough to explain. After listening to each of them state their case he asked if he might help them resolve the matter.
“How?” they all asked; somewhat puzzled. “What makes you so sure that you won’t just re-emerge with yet another opinion?”
With that he beckoned them to follow him. Upon entering the cave he took out a lantern and lit it. The darkness was scattered and everything suddenly became very clear. In the middle of the cave stood a very large elephant that had entered in order to find refuge from the scorching heat outside.
“An easy mistake” declared the lone traveller. “The animated elephant’s trunk was thought to be the snake, its tail the rope and one of its legs to be the trunk of a tree”
After much laughter they all settled down for the night. Happy to share their space with a rather large but bemused elephant.
The Moral Of The Story
Don’t allow ego or personal opinion to cloud your thinking or your judgement. Be flexible, humble and gracious enough to allow others to throw more light onto matters; especially when they are perhaps wiser, more experienced or better equipped to do so. Allow others to shine and be happy to let them.