- end_line
- 1431
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:09.927Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 1365
- text
- CHAPTER XI.
A Nursery-Tale Of Babbalanja’s
Having taken to our canoes once again, we were silently sailing along,
when Media observed, “Babbalanja; though I seldom trouble myself with
such thoughts, I have just been thinking, how difficult it must be, for
the more ignorant sort of people, to decide upon what particular image
to worship as a guardian deity, when in Maramma, it seems, there exists
such a multitude of idols, and a thousand more are to be heard of.”
“Not at all, your highness. The more ignorant the better. The multitude
of images distracts them not. But I am in no mood for serious
discourse; let me tell you a story.”
“A story! hear him: the solemn philosopher is desirous of regaling us
with a tale! But pray, begin.”
“Once upon a time, then,” said Babbalanja, indifferently adjusting his
girdle, “nine blind men, with uncommonly long noses, set out on their
travels to see the great island on which they were born.”
“A precious beginning,” muttered Mohi. “Nine blind men setting out to
see sights.”
Continued Babbalanja, “Staff in hand, they traveled; one in advance of
the other; each man with his palm upon the shoulder next him; and he
with the longest nose took the lead of the file. Journeying on in this
manner, they came to a valley, in which reigned a king called Tammaro.
Now, in a certain inclosure toward the head of the valley, there stood
an immense wild banian tree; all over moss, and many centuries old, and
forming quite a wood in itself: its thousand boughs striking into the
earth, and fixing there as many gigantic trunks. With Tammaro, it had
long been a question, which of those many trunks was the original and
true one; a matter that had puzzled the wisest heads among his
subjects; and in vain had a reward been offered for the solution of the
perplexity. But the tree was so vast, and its fabric so complex; and
its rooted branches so similar in appearance; and so numerous, from the
circumstance that every year had added to them, that it was quite
impossible to determine the point. Nevertheless, no sooner did the nine
blind men hear that there was a reward offered for discovering the
trunk of a tree, standing all by itself, than, one and all, they
assured Tammaro, that they would quickly settle that little difficulty
of his; and loudly inveighed against the stupidity of his sages, who
had been so easily posed. So, being conducted into the inclosure, and
assured that the tree was somewhere within, they separated their
forces, so as at wide intervals to surround it at a distance; when
feeling their way, with their staves and their noses, they advanced to
the search, crying out—‘Pshaw! make room there; let us wise men feel of
the mystery.’ Presently, striking with his nose one of the rooted
branches, the foremost blind man quickly knelt down; and feeling that
it struck into the earth, gleefully shouted: Here it is! here it is!’
But almost in the same breath, his companions, also, each striking a
branch with his staff or his nose, cried out in like manner, ‘Here it
is! here it is!’ Whereupon they were all confounded: but directly, the
man who first cried out, thus addressed the rest: Good friends, surely
you’re mistaken. There is but one tree in the place, and here it is.’
‘Very true,’ said the others, ‘all together; there is only _one_ tree;
but _here_ it is.’ ‘Nay,’ said the others, ‘it is _here!_’ and so
saying, each blind man triumphantly felt of the branch, where it
penetrated into the earth. Then again said the first speaker: Good
friends, if you will not believe what I say, come hither, and feel for
yourselves.’ ‘Nay, nay,’ replied they, why seek further? _here_ it is;
and nowhere else can it be.’ ‘You blind fools, you, you contradict
yourselves,’ continued the first speaker, waxing wroth; ‘how can you
each have hold of a separate trunk, when there is but one in the
place?’ Whereupon, they redoubled their cries, calling each other all
- title
- Chunk 1