The Good Stupid
Long, long ago, a poor farmer lived in a village upon the mountains. He had three sons, of whom the elder two were intelligent, but the youngest one Kaisang was rather stupid. Strangely, he would not think of anything for himself, he seemed to have a soft corner for the villagers and he always went to their help, and had no time for his own family or to attend to their needs. Naturally, they thought that he was only a burden and turned him out to fend for himself. Some of the villagers sympathized with his misfortune. They told him, "There's another mountain ten miles away. There is a cave, you'll find a sage. He is a great man and commands a lot of power. Maybe if you go and meet him, you might benefit." For someone who had never thought for himself, Kaisang did not have much hope. A mere meeting with a sage in a cave could not be expected to do any miracles, he thought. Or to be more realistic, he did not have that much imagination or intelligence to foresee a bright future for him. He reached the village and found that all the inhabitants there, including the animals, were suffering from acute drought. There was not a drop of water in the lake the village had. The only inlet into the lake had dried up completely. Suddenly, an idea struck him. If he could meet the sage, he would ask him for help to secure water for the villagers. After walking for a whole day, he reached another village There at the outskirts, he came upon an old woman staying all alone in a hut along with her daughter. He enquired with her about the sage.
Poor woman, she told him that she had never once left the hut, as her daughter was blind from birth. She asked him to plead with the sage to bless her with eyesight. With great difficulty, Kaisang somehow reached the mountain cave and met the sage. In his presence, the boy felt a lot of relief and peace. The sage spoke to him for a long time, about his village, his family, and the circumstances which brought him that far from his village. Kaisang did not forget to tell him of the drought-stricken village and also about the poor woman and her blind daughter. The old sage was impressed by Kaisang's sincerity and kind-heartedness. Despite his poverty, the boy was eager to go to the help of others. The sage recalled the many persons in high positions, as well as educated and well-to-do people whom he had occasion to meet, and remembered that none of them had exhibited any feeling for others. Whereas this youngster had started on his journey to seek a better life for himself, yet he was ready to forget that purpose for the sake of others, to find a solution to their problems. What a noble mentality, indeed! The sage decided to help him as best as he could and gave him all the advice and directions that he needed. After paying his obeisance to the sage, Kaisang started on his way back. He first went to the village where the lake had dried up. He walked along the river that fed the lake and suddenly came upon a herd of elephants wallowing in the river and blocking the flow of water. Kaisang went about collecting a lot of twigs and dry leaves and set fire to it. The moment the animals saw the fire, they came out of the river and ran away.
There was then a good flow of water in the river and soon the lake, too, had enough to feed the village. The people's joy knew no bounds. Kaisang thanked the sage in his mind for the advice he had given him. Kaisang next proceeded to the village where the old woman and her daughter lived. They were happy that he had remembered them and come back with some hope. Kaisang went up to the blind girl and placed his right hand on her head. As if by miracle, the girl was no longer blind! Kaisang revealed to the old woman that the sage had told him, that whoever would help her get eyesight would wed her and the two would enjoy happiness and prosperity for long. The old woman was greatly relieved to hear all this and arranged for their marriage. The villagers blessed the couple and showered them with valuable gifts. Kaisang and his wife then proceeded to his village. The people were surprised how a simpleton like Kaisang, whom they all had considered quite useless, had earned a name and fame for himself. They received him with a warm heart, forgetting the past. On reaching his home, Kaisang was embraced by his father with great affection. "We all had branded him as stupid. But look at him now! Would you still call him a nincompoop? He lived for others, whereas we all were selfish. I think we must henceforth take him to be our model and change our ways altogether," his father said. The two elder brothers, who were till then keeping silent, rushed to Kaisang and hugged him, and led him and his wife inside their house.
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