By Charles Anyiam-Osigwe
My son, as you go through life, many situations will present themselves where you will be tempted to be a smart Alec. Try to avoid such temptations, as they’re nothing to be gained by it. I tell you a story.
In a certain town, there was a wise old man. A young boy hearing of his reputation as a man of great wisdom boasted to his friends that he was going to prove that the old man was not as wise as he is made out to be.
He asked his friend to go into a field with him. There he chased after a grasshopper and caught it with his hands. Once he got hold of the grasshopper he ran with his friend to the house of the old man.
On meeting the old man he said, “Wise one, I have a grasshopper in my hand, I want you to tell me if it is alive or dead.”The old man looked up from the task he had on hand. Smiling wryly he said, “My young man, the answer to your question is in your hand.” That said, he went back to his task. The boy and his friends stood looking lost and then departed.
The old man’s assistant after a while asked him, “Master, why did you give such an answer to the boy?”
“Simple,” said the old man, “If I said to him, the grasshopper is dead, he will open his hands and the grasshopper will fly off alive. If I told him it was alive, he will squeeze it to death before opening his hand. So, the answer to his question was in his hands.”
Now my son, do not let your desire to show up others expose your ignorance.
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