THE MAN, THE SNAKE,
AND THE STONE
(Indries Shah)
One day a man
who had not a care in the world was walking along a road. An unusual object to one side of him caught
his eye. "I must find out what
this is," he said to himself.
As he came up to
it, he saw that it was a large, very flat stone.
"I must
find out what is underneath this," he told himself. And he lifted the stone.
No sooner had he
done so than he heard a loud, hissing sound, and a huge snake came gliding out
from a hole under the stone. The man
dropped the stone in alarm. The snake
wound itself into a coil, and said to him:
"Now I am
going to kill you, for I am a venomous snake."
"But I have
released you," said the man, "how can you repay good with evil? Such
an action would not accord with reasonable behaviour."
"In the
first place," said the snake, "you lifted the stone from curiosity
and in ignorance of the possible consequences. How can this now suddenly become
`I have released you'?"
"We must
always try to return to reasonable behaviour, when we stop to think"
murmured the man.
"Return to
it when you think invoking it might suit your interests," said the snake.
"Yes,"
said the man, "I was a fool to expect reasonable behaviour from a
snake."
"From a
snake, expect snake-behaviour," said the snake. "To a snake, snake-behaviour is what can be regarded as
reasonable."
"Now I am
going to kill you," it continued.
"Please do
not kill me," said the man, "give me another chance. You have taught
me about curiosity, reasonable behaviour and snake-behaviour. Now you would
kill me before I can put this knowledge into action."
"Very
well," said the snake, "I shall give you another chance. I shall come
along with you on your journey. We will ask the next creature whom we meet who
shall be neither a man nor a snake, to adjudicate between us."
The man agreed,
and they started on their way.
Before long they
came to a flock of sheep in a field. The snake stopped, and the man cried to
the sheep;
"Sheep,
sheep, please save me! This snake intends to kill me. If you tell him not to do
so he will spare me. Give a verdict in my favour, for I am a man, the friend of
sheep."
One of the sheep
answered; "We have been put out into this field after serving a man for
many years. We have given him wool year after year, and now that we are old,
tomorrow he will kill us for mutton. That is the measure of the generosity of
men. Snake, kill that man!"
The snake reared
up and his green eyes glittered as he said to the man; "This is how your
friends see you. I shudder to think what your enemies are like!"
"Give me
one more chance," cried the man in desperation. "Please let us find
someone else to give an opinion, so that my life may be spared."
"I do not want
to be as unreasonable as you think I am," said the snake, "and I will
therefore continue in accordance with your pattern, and not with mine. Let us
ask the next individual whom we may meet - being neither a man nor a snake -
what your fate is to be."
The man thanked
the snake and they continued on their journey.
Presently they
came upon a lone horse, standing hobbled in a field. The snake addressed him; "Horse, horse, why are you hobbled
like that?"
The horse said;
"For many years I served a man. He gave me food, for which I had not
asked, and he taught me to serve him. He said that this was in exchange for the
food and stable. Now that I am too infirm to work, he has decided to sell me
soon for horsemeat. I am hobbled
because the man thinks that if I roam over this field I will eat too much of
his grass."
"Do not
make this horse my judge, for God's sake!" exclaimed the man.
"According
to our compact," said the snake inexorably, "this man and I have
agreed to have our case judged by you."
He outlined the
matter, and the horse said; "Snake, it is beyond my capabilities and not
in my nature to kill a man. But I feel that you, as a snake, have no
alternative but to do so if a man is in your power."
"If you
will give me just one more chance," begged the man, "I am sure that
something will come to my aid. I have
been unlucky on this journey so far, and have only come across creatures who
have a grudge. Let us therefore choose some animal which has no such knowledge
and hence no generalised animosity towards my kind."
"People do
not know snakes," said the snake, "and yet they seem to have a
generalised animosity towards them. But I am willing to give you just one more
chance."
They continued
on their journey. Soon they saw a fox, lying asleep under a bush beside the
road. The man woke the fox gently, and said; "Fear nothing, brother fox.
My case is such-and-such, and my future depends upon your decision. The snake
will give me no further chance, so only your generosity or altruism can help
me."
The fox thought
for a moment, and then he said; "I am not sure that only generosity or
altruism can operate here. But I will engage myself in this matter. In order to
come to a decision I must rely upon something more than hearsay. We must
demonstrate as well. Come, let us return to the beginning of your journey, and
examine the facts on the spot."
They returned to
where the first encounter had taken place.
"Now we
will reconstruct the situation," said the fox; "snake, be so good as
to take your place once more, in your hole under that flat stone."
The man lifted
the stone, and the snake coiled itself up in the hollow beneath it. The man let
the stone fall. The snake was now trapped again, and the fox turning to the
man, said; "We have returned to the beginning. The snake cannot get out unless you release him. He leaves our
story at this point."
"Thank you,
thank you," said the man, his eyes full of tears.
"Thanks are
not enough, brother," said the fox; "In addition to generosity and
altruism there is the matter of my payment."
"How can
you enforce payment?" asked the man.
"Anyone who
can solve the problem which I have just concluded," said the fox, "is
well able to take care of such a detail as that. I again invite you to
recompense me, from fear if not from any sense of justice. Shall we call it, in
your words, being `reasonable'?"
The man said;
"Very well, come to my house and I will give you a chicken."
They went to the
man's house. The man went into his chicken-coop, and came back in a moment with
a bulging sack. The fox seized it and was about to open it when the man said;
"Friend fox, do not open the sack here. I have human neighbours and they
should not know that I am co-operating with a fox. They might kill you, as well
as censuring me."
"That is a
reasonable thought," said the fox; "what do you suggest I do?"
"Do you see
that clump of trees yonder?" said the man, pointing.
"Yes,"
said the fox.
"You run
with the sack into that cover, and you will be able to enjoy your meal
unmolested."
The fox ran off.
As soon as he
reached the trees a party of hunters, whom the man knew would be there, caught
him. He leaves our story here.
And the man? His
future is yet to come.
Keith and Marnie
Elliott’s “REMEDY” Site
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