A village elder, known for his calculated shrewdness, made sure he found Story Teller alone one day.
Story Teller was perched on a large rock overlooking the running water of a nearby stream.
The elder said hello and sat beside him. They sat in silence for a while, no sounds except the gurgling of the flowing water and the light breeze in their ears.
The elder said, "I need you to come clean."
Story Teller smiled. "Okay."
"You don't know what about, what I want you to come clean about. How can you say okay?"
"I don't need to question you. I figure you will tell me." said Story Teller.
"Hmmph!" said the elder.
More silence.
"Let's get to the bottom of this." said the elder. "You tell us these amusing stories which I do not always completely understand."
Story Teller knew that was quite an admission for this man who regarded himself as highly knowledgeable and insisted that others see him that way too.
He sat quietly, allowing room for the elder's story to unfold.
"What is the meaning of it all? On what can we rely?" asked the elder. "What is the bottom line?"
The man's questions hung in the air for a while.
Story Teller said, "I will tell you a story."
The man groaned. "No straight answer? I want it in black and white."
Story Teller said, "I will give you the answer. You will have to be the one to make it black and white."
He continued. "Long ago there was an Emperor, loved by the people for his wisdom, his justice, and his kindness. He decided to take a trek. He went far out, climbed the highest mountain overlooking the ocean, sat quietly for a while, then returned home."
"When he got home, he found that he had lost the secret to all treasure. His Dark Pearl. He felt lost without it. He sent Knowledge out to look for it. Knowledge looked everywhere, retracing the Emperor's steps in fine detail. He kept good records. You can still read the efforts of his search in the Knowledge journals. He could not find the Pearl."
Story Teller paused. "And?" said the elder, impatient for knowledge.
"The Emperor tried a different approach. He sent Sharp Eyes out to look for the Pearl. Sharp Eyes could see everything visible. Sharp Eyes looked everywhere but Sharp Eyes could not find it.
"The Emperor was desperate. He did not expect much to come of it, but he sent Wrangling Debate out to look for the Dark Pearl. Wrangling Debate questioned everything and everyone that had anything to do with the Dark Pearl. He received wild acclaim for his ability to talk anyone into a corner. But he could not find the Pearl."
"Aha!" said the Emperor. "I know who I will send to find the Dark Pearl. So he did. And the Dark Pearl was found. He sent Formlessness, the Unbound."
Silence.
The elder was caught in thought. He started to argue with Story Teller then remembered that Wrangling Debate was useless. He sat confused.
Story Teller picked up a pebble and tossed it, bonking the elder in the head.
The elder burst out laughing.
He and Story Teller whooped until tears ran down their cheeks.
Story Teller was perched on a large rock overlooking the running water of a nearby stream.
The elder said hello and sat beside him. They sat in silence for a while, no sounds except the gurgling of the flowing water and the light breeze in their ears.
The elder said, "I need you to come clean."
Story Teller smiled. "Okay."
"You don't know what about, what I want you to come clean about. How can you say okay?"
"I don't need to question you. I figure you will tell me." said Story Teller.
"Hmmph!" said the elder.
More silence.
"Let's get to the bottom of this." said the elder. "You tell us these amusing stories which I do not always completely understand."
Story Teller knew that was quite an admission for this man who regarded himself as highly knowledgeable and insisted that others see him that way too.
He sat quietly, allowing room for the elder's story to unfold.
"What is the meaning of it all? On what can we rely?" asked the elder. "What is the bottom line?"
The man's questions hung in the air for a while.
Story Teller said, "I will tell you a story."
The man groaned. "No straight answer? I want it in black and white."
Story Teller said, "I will give you the answer. You will have to be the one to make it black and white."
He continued. "Long ago there was an Emperor, loved by the people for his wisdom, his justice, and his kindness. He decided to take a trek. He went far out, climbed the highest mountain overlooking the ocean, sat quietly for a while, then returned home."
"When he got home, he found that he had lost the secret to all treasure. His Dark Pearl. He felt lost without it. He sent Knowledge out to look for it. Knowledge looked everywhere, retracing the Emperor's steps in fine detail. He kept good records. You can still read the efforts of his search in the Knowledge journals. He could not find the Pearl."
Story Teller paused. "And?" said the elder, impatient for knowledge.
"The Emperor tried a different approach. He sent Sharp Eyes out to look for the Pearl. Sharp Eyes could see everything visible. Sharp Eyes looked everywhere but Sharp Eyes could not find it.
"The Emperor was desperate. He did not expect much to come of it, but he sent Wrangling Debate out to look for the Dark Pearl. Wrangling Debate questioned everything and everyone that had anything to do with the Dark Pearl. He received wild acclaim for his ability to talk anyone into a corner. But he could not find the Pearl."
"Aha!" said the Emperor. "I know who I will send to find the Dark Pearl. So he did. And the Dark Pearl was found. He sent Formlessness, the Unbound."
Silence.
The elder was caught in thought. He started to argue with Story Teller then remembered that Wrangling Debate was useless. He sat confused.
Story Teller picked up a pebble and tossed it, bonking the elder in the head.
The elder burst out laughing.
He and Story Teller whooped until tears ran down their cheeks.
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