In a time before all the surprises had been discovered and catalogued, six best friends lived in a village at the end of a desert. These six men were blind, so their lives were filled with more surprises than most. They helped each other every day and never, ever disagreed.

One day, they heard that an animal from very far away was visiting the village. The creature was called an elephant. None of the six blind men had ever met an elephant. They each had different ideas about it.

The biggest of the men suggested, “I believe the elephant is the biggest animal.”

The oldest of the friends said, “I bet that elephants live a long time.”

The smartest man exclaimed, “I’m sure elephants have excellent memories!”

“I hope the elephant is gentle enough to pet,” said the kindest man.

“But it probably doesn’t have much hair,” added the bald blind man. 

The man who was the most adventurous suggested they meet the elephant. Then they walked through the village to the main square.

The kindest blind man and his friends were happy that the elephant was gentle enough to pet. One by one, they approached the animal.

The most adventurous man touched the elephant’s trunk. He thought for a few moments and said, “So, this is what an elephant is like! An elephant is long and rounded like a snake!”

The oldest man touched the elephant’s ear. He was  confused because he felt something different from the first man. He said, “I am sorry my friend, you are wrong! An elephant is like a big fan! It is large, curved on the side, and wrinkled.”

The biggest man touched the elephant’s side. He, too disagreed. “It hurts me to say it, but you are both wrong,” he said. “An elephant is like a wall because it is tall, big, and strong.”

The smartest man touched the elephant’s leg. He said, “What in the world are you three touching? An elephant is long, tall, and sturdy, like a pole!”

The bald blind man touched the elephant’s tail. He exclaimed, “No, no, no, an elephant is long and thin, almost like rope.”

The kindest of the friends touched the elephant’s tusk. “I am surprised, but you are all wrong,” he said. “An elephant is smooth and hard, like a spear. I am sure of it.”

The six blind men argued, each one believing that he was right. They became more and more upset because of the disagreement. “How can we be friends!” one of them said. “We are all very different!”

Just in time, a wise man walked by and asked about the commotion. 

What’s wrong?

“We can’t agree what the elephant is like,” they admitted. One by one, each blind man described the elephant as seemed right to him.

After hearing each of their explanations, the wise man said, “Everyone is correct. But you each touched a different part of the elephant. This is why you disagree. None of you had the full picture.”

“Oh!” all the blind men exclaimed. They finally understood, and they all laughed at their mistake together.

The moral of this story is that what you see or hear or touch or taste or smell is true, but it may not be all that there is. No one can be sure of knowing the entire truth.

The EndQuestion:?Have you ever thought something was true before finding outa new detail that changed your mind?
核心詞匯

catalogue v. 把……編入目錄，登記，記載

bald adj. 禿頭的

adventurous adj. 愛冒險的，有進取心的

approach v. 靠近

trunk n. 象鼻

curved adj. 彎曲的

wrinkled adj. 有皺紋的

sturdy adj. 強壯的，結實的

pole n. 桿子

tusk n. （象）長牙

smooth adj. 光滑的

commotion n. 喧鬧，騷動，混亂

以下翻譯來自百度翻譯：在所有驚喜被發現和分類之前的一段時間里，六個最好的朋友住在沙漠盡頭的一個村莊里。這六個人是盲人，所以他們的生活比大多數人都充滿了驚喜。他們每天都互相幫助，從未有過分歧。一天，他們聽說有一只動物從很遠的地方來到這個村莊。這種生物被稱為大象。六個盲人中沒有一個見過大象。他們每個人對此都有不同的想法。最大的男人建議說：“我相信大象是最大的動物。”最年長的朋友說：“我打賭大象活得很長。”最聰明的人喊道：“我相信大象的記憶力很好！”“我希望大象能溫柔地撫摸它，”最善良的人說。“但它可能沒有多少頭發，”禿頭盲人補充道。最愛冒險的人建議他們去見大象。然后他們穿過村莊來到主廣場。最善良的盲人和他的朋友們很高興大象能溫柔地撫摸它。他們一個接一個地走近那只動物。最愛冒險的人摸了摸大象的鼻子。他想了一會兒說：“大象就是這樣！大象又長又圓，像蛇一樣！”最年長的人摸了摸大象的耳朵。他感到困惑，因為他覺得自己和第一個人有些不同。他說：“對不起，我的朋友，你錯了！大象就像一把大扇子！它很大，側面彎曲，有皺紋。”最大的男人摸了摸大象的側面。他也不同意。“說這話讓我很傷心，但你們都錯了，”他說。大象像一堵墻，因為它高、大、壯最聰明的人摸了摸大象的腿。他說：“你們三個到底在碰什么？大象長得又高又壯，像一根桿子！”禿頭盲人摸了摸大象的尾巴。他喊道：“不，不，不，大象又長又細，幾乎像繩子。”最善良的朋友摸了摸大象的象牙。“我很驚訝，但你們都錯了，”他說。“大象是光滑而堅硬的，像矛一樣。我敢肯定。”六個盲人爭論，每個人都相信自己是對的。由于意見不合，他們變得越來越沮喪。“我們怎么能成為朋友！”其中一個說。“我們都很不同！”正好趕上，一位智者走過來詢問騷亂的情況。“怎么了？”“我們不能同意大象是什么樣子，”他們承認。一個接一個，每個盲人都把大象描述成他認為是對的。在聽了他們的每一個解釋后，智者說：“每個人都是正確的。但是你們每個人都觸摸了大象的不同部分。這就是為什么你們不同意。你們都不了解整個情況。”“哦！”所有的盲人都喊道。他們終于明白了，他們一起嘲笑自己的錯誤。這個故事的寓意是，你所看到的、聽到的、觸摸到的、嘗到的或聞到的都是真實的，但它可能不是全部。沒有人能確定知道全部真相。