The Madman | Page 4

satisfied.
The Fox
A fox looked at his shadow at sunrise and said, "I will have a camel for
lunch today." And all morning he went about looking for camels. But at
noon he saw his shadow again--and he said, "A mouse will do."
The Wise King
Once there ruled in the distant city of Wirani a king who was both
mighty and wise. And he was feared for his might and loved for his
wisdom.
Now, in the heart of that city was a well, whose water was cool and
crystalline, from which all the inhabitants drank, even the king and his
courtiers; for there was no other well.
One night when all were asleep, a witch entered the city, and poured
seven drops of strange liquid into the well, and said, "From this hour he
who drinks this water shall become mad."
Next morning all the inhabitants, save the king and his lord

chamberlain, drank from the well and became mad, even as the witch
had foretold.
And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the market
places did naught but whisper to one another, "The king is mad. Our
king and his lord chamberlain have lost their reason. Surely we cannot
be ruled by a mad king. We must dethrone him."
That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the well.
And when it was brought to him he drank deeply, and gave it to his lord
chamberlain to drink.
And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Wirani, because its
king and its lord chamberlain had regained their reason.
Ambition
Three men met at a tavern table. One was a weaver, another a carpenter
and the third a ploughman.
Said the weaver, "I sold a fine linen shroud today for two pieces of gold.
Let us have all the wine we want."
"And I," said the carpenter, "I sold my best coffin. We will have a great
roast with the wine."
"I only dug a grave," said the ploughman, "but my patron paid me
double. Let us have honey cakes too."
And all that evening the tavern was busy, for they called often for wine
and meat and cakes. And they were merry.
And the host rubbed his hands and smiled at his wife; for his guests
were spending freely.
When they left the moon was high, and they walked along the road
singing and shouting together.
The host and his wife stood in the tavern door and looked after them.

"Ah!" said the wife, "these gentlemen! So freehanded and so gay! If
only they could bring us such luck every day! Then our son need not be
a tavern-keeper and work so hard. We could educate him, and he could
become a priest."
The New Pleasure
Last night I invented a new pleasure, and as I was giving it the first trial
an angel and a devil came rushing toward my house. They met at my
door and fought with each other over my newly created pleasure; the
one crying, "It is a sin!"--the other, "It is a virtue!"
The Other Language
Three days after I was born, as I lay in my silken cradle, gazing with
astonished dismay on the new world round about me, my mother spoke
to the wet-nurse, saying, "How does my child?"
And the wet-nurse answered, "He does well, Madame, I have fed him
three times; and never before have I seen a babe so young yet so gay."
And I was indignant; and I cried, "It is not true, mother; for my bed is
hard, and the milk I have sucked is bitter to my mouth, and the odour of
the breast is foul in my nostrils, and I am most miserable."
But my mother did not understand, nor did the nurse; for the language I
spoke was that of the world from which I came.
And on the twenty-first day of my life, as I was being christened, the
priest said to my mother, "You should indeed by happy, Madame, that
your son was born a Christian."
And I was surprised,--and I said to the priest, "Then your mother in
Heaven should be unhappy, for you were not born a Christian."
But the priest too did not understand my language.
And after seven moons, one day a soothsayer looked at me, and he said
to my mother, "Your son will be a statesman and a great leader of

men."
But I cried out,--"That is a false prophet; for I shall be a musician, and
naught but a musician shall I be."
But even at that age my language was not understood--and great was
my astonishment.
And after three and thirty years, during which my mother, and the nurse,
and the priest