[etni] [FWD: A simple story]
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- Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 03:38:54 -0700
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Subject: A simple story
From: "Ronald Green" <greenelt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
A simple story for the new year.
Once upon a time in a land far away, a king looked
at all the carriages and decided that they weren't moving
fast enough. After much thought he decreed (for he was king)
that from that moment on carriages would have square wheels.
When the sages heard about this, they looked up from their dusty
parchments, called for the king and told him the idea was good.
The king was gratified, because the sages that sat in their old
buildings were wise beyond measure.
When the carriage makers heard about the decree, they said,
"But this won't work. Our carriages will move even more slowly
than before." But the king did not listen, for he was king and
knew what was best. And so all new carriages were built
with square wheels.
But the people who needed to get from place to place were
mightily displeased and blamed the carriage makers. And
they asked if square wheels had ever been tried before in
another land, to which the king did not reply.
But a decree is a decree, and the king told his courtiers to
travel the length and breadth of the land to spread the word
and to tell the people that square wheels were good. But the
people were not convinced and wanted to continue with round
wheels, so the king and his courtiers said, "No, you must not,"
and commanded that all the old carriages with round wheels
were to be destroyed.
But many people were still not convinced, even though they
knew the king was wise, and they asked him, "Why?" And
the whys were frequent in the land. The king heard the people
and let them talk, because he was a benevolent king.
Sometimes he answered and sometimes he didn't. And when
he did, he said, "It is very comfortable to sit in carriage with
square wheels. And because it is a new idea. New must be
better than old. New IS better than old." And to prove how right
he was, he told the unbelieving people to look across the seas
to the Great Sage, the one who lived in a big palace by the
ocean. And the people saw that it was true: the Big Sage
advised kings in every land and was given gold and silver for
his words, so that his worth increased and nobody dared to
question him, even those who wondered whether the Great Sage
had ever travelled by carriage. The king, who knew he was right,
invited the Great Sage to talk to the people, and with great
fanfare he came. And everyone who heard him was impressed,
because he was a mighty orator. The only problem was that
the carriages did not go faster, and even seemed to go slower
than before.
When the king saw that people were finding it difficult to travel
on square wheels, he understood that not everyone could be
as wise as he (for he was king, after all), and so he commanded
his treasurer to release much gold to teach the people how to
ride on square wheels. And much, much gold was spread among
the people all over the kingdom so that people could learn.
And when people asked why so much gold was being spread,
the king and his courtiers laughed and said, "You want to go
back to round wheels?" And much laughing was heard around
the land.
But still the carriages weren't going faster, and when some
people said that they were going even slower and that it took
much effort, they were asked, "How do you know the carriages
are going slower than before?" The people looked back in
surprise, and before they could answer, they were told,
"Surely you see that they are moving better." Thereafter even
more gold was spread among the land to teach the people.
And the king was not pleased that the people still mumbled
and complained, so he pointed to those people who said that
their carriages were going faster with the square wheels. And
to those who said that it wasn't so, the courtiers answered,
"You won't use square wheels because you are old and
don't want to try new ideas." And gradually the people
stopped complaining, for who wants to be told that he
doesn't like new ideas?
As the years passed and the carriages went slower and
slower, all manner of words were used together with the gold.
"You must look at the whole carriage," the courtiers said,
"not just at the wheels." But when the people replied,
"But the carriage won't move with square wheels," the courtiers
spread the word that the people simply didn't understand.
Every year at the carriage race, the king hoped that the
people would see how much faster everything moved. But it
didn't. And the king and his courtiers gave three reasons:
there was not enough gold around, too many people were
riding in each carriage, and the people didn't know how to ride
in the carriages. But the king knew that once the people
understood, the carriages would run faster.
And the king was steadfast because knew he was right, and
that once the old people would be replaced by new ones
who had never known round wheels, the carriages would go
much faster. And even more gold and effort was spread,
especially among the young people, for they would take to
square wheels naturally.
And there came the big carriage race, the one where other
lands sent their carriages. The race where the youngsters
took part. It was only the king and his courtiers who was
surprised when their carriages came almost last,
driven by youngsters who would grow to ride the big carriages.
A mighty cry was heard in the land, and the people looked
to the king for help. And he was mightily displeased, for he
knew that the people still didn't understand.
And so to this day, carriages run on square wheels. But the
king could not go back to round wheels because no more
round wheels were being made. And what king would admit
that he had been wrong? And, of course, he hadn't been:
the people had been wrong.
Moral of story (you may choose more than one):
a. square wheels are better than round wheels
because the king says so
b. square wheels are better than round wheels
because new ideas always work better
c. round wheels are not better than square wheels
because too many people are using them
d. round wheels are not better than square wheels
because they have been used for a long time
e. round wheels are better than square wheels
because they work better
f. square wheel may be better than round wheels,
but we don't know becausewe haven't tried hard enough
g. just because carriages ran faster with round wheels
doesn't mean that they were really running
h. even if you think that carriages ran faster with round
wheels, in fact they didn't run as well
i. you can fool most of the people some of the time
j. carriage races don't prove anything because they
don't show whether the carriages actually move faster
k. don't rock the carriage
l. use round wheels but tell anyone that you are
using square wheels
m. always listen to sages
Ronald Green
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