Storyteller: Many times, we have arguments with other people because of different opinions. But we should not quarrel with others because we must realize that everybody looks at things form a difference angle. Here is the folk tale “The blind men and the elephant” There are many versions of this folk tale such as Indian version, Chinese version. But today I would like to tell you Vietnamese version.
LE HOAN Primary School The blind men and the elephant The folk tale of Vietnam Storyteller: Many times, we have arguments with other people because of different opinions But we should not quarrel with others because we must realize that everybody looks at things form a difference angle Here is the folk tale “The blind men and the elephant” There are many versions of this folk tale such as Indian version, Chinese version But today I would like to tell you Vietnamese version Would you like to know how the blind men thought about the elephant? Please follow me to meet them now Once upon a time, there were six blind men They lived in a village in Vietnam They thought they were very clever The first man: I am very smart The second man: I am smarter than you The third man: No, I am the smartest man in this town Storyteller: Every day, they argued with each other One day, an elephant came into village The little girl: Look! An elephant is coming Let us take a ride on it Wow! It’s a very big elephant! All men: An elephant? What is this animal like? Storyteller: The blind men did not know what an elephant looked like But, they could smell it and they could hear it Each man touched a different part of the elephant The first man touched the elephant’s body It felt hard, big and wide He said The first man: “An elephant is like a wall” Storyteller: The second man touched one of the elephant’s tusks It felt smooth and hard and sharp He said The second man: No, it’s not like a wall An elephant is like a spear Storyteller: The third man touched the elephant’s trunk It felt long and thin and wiggly He said The third man: No! An elephant is not like a wall It is not like a spear, either An elephant is like a snake Storyteller: The fourth man touched one of the legs It felt thick and rough and hard and round He said The fourth man: No! An elephant is not like a wall It’s not like a spear or a snake, either An elephant is like a big tree Storyteller: The fifth man touched one of the elephant’s ears It felt thin and it moved He said The fifth man: No, no! An elephant is not like a wall It’s not like a spear or a snake or a tree An elephant is like a fan Storyteller: The sixth man touched the elephant’s tail It felt long and thin and strong He said The sixth man: You’re wrong! An elephant is not like a wall It’s not like a spear or a snake or a tree or a fan An elephant is like a rope Storyteller: The six men still argued together The first man: It’s like a wall! The second man: No, it isn’t! It’s like a spear! The third man: No, it isn’t! It’s like a snake! The fourth man: No, it isn’t! It’s like a tree! The fifth man: No, it isn’t! It’s like a fan! The sixth man: No, it isn’t! It’s like a rope! Storyteller: They did not agree A little girl also heard them and said The little girl: Huh, Be calm! Listen to me, please! You are not very clever You did not feel the whole animal You just felt part of it! But, I know what you are talking about It’s an elephant! Hahahaha!" Storyteller: Each of them thought that he was right In the same way, we think our opinion to be right and we fight with others who have different opinion We should learn to appreciate other people’s opinion This will go a long way is improving our relations with them Thank you so much for your attention