The Blind Men and the Elephant
- 2 minute read
- Ages 6-10
- Moral Stories
Six blind men lived in a village, and one day an elephant was brought through it for the first time in their lives.
They had all heard of elephants. None of them had any idea what one was. So they went out together to find out, and the keeper let them come close and touch it.
Six answers
The first man walked into the elephant's side, which was broad and flat and solid.
"An elephant is a wall," he said.
The second took hold of a tusk, smooth and hard and curving to a point.
"Nonsense. An elephant is a spear."
The third found the trunk, which moved in his hands and coiled round his wrist.
"You are both wrong. An elephant is a thick snake."
The fourth put his arms round a leg.
"An elephant is a tree trunk."
The fifth reached up and caught an ear, wide and thin and moving.
"An elephant is a large fan."
The sixth got hold of the tail.
"An elephant is a piece of rope."
The argument
They went back to the village arguing, and they argued all afternoon.
Each of them had felt the elephant with his own hands. Each of them knew exactly what he had touched. And so each of them was certain that the other five were either lying or fools.
The argument was still going at sunset when a wise man came past and asked what the trouble was.
They told him.
"You are all right," he said, "and all of you are wrong. Each of you has told me the truth about the part you touched. But an elephant is not a wall, or a spear, or a snake, or a tree, or a fan, or a rope. It is all of those things at once, and none of you has touched enough of it to know that."
"Then how do we find out what an elephant really is?" asked the first man.
"By listening to each other," said the wise man, "instead of shouting."
Moral of the story
Everyone sees a part of the truth and thinks they see all of it. Put the parts together and you get closer to what is really there.
Questions and answers
- Why did the six men go to touch the elephant?
They had all heard of elephants but had never encountered one, so they went to find out for themselves what an elephant was.
- What did each man compare the elephant to?
A wall, a spear, a snake, a tree trunk, a fan and a rope, depending on which part of the animal he touched.
- Why was each man so certain he was right?
Each had felt the elephant with his own hands, so each believed he had direct evidence and the others must be wrong.
- What did the wise man tell them?
That all of them were partly right, because each had described the part he touched, but none had touched enough of the animal to describe the whole.
- How did the wise man say they could learn the truth?
By listening to each other instead of arguing, so that all six descriptions could be put together.
Word meanings
- tusk
- One of the long pointed teeth of an elephant.
- coiled
- Wound around in circles, the way a rope or snake does.
- certain
- Completely sure about something.
- evidence
- Facts or experience that show something is true.
Questions about The Blind Men and the Elephant
What is the moral of The Blind Men and the Elephant?
The moral is that each person only sees part of the truth, and that combining different viewpoints gives a fuller picture than insisting your own is complete.
Where does this story come from?
It is an ancient Indian parable found in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts, and it has been retold across the world for well over two thousand years.
Is the story making fun of the blind men?
No. The parable is about all people, not about blindness. The men stand for anyone who mistakes partial knowledge for the whole truth.
How can children apply this lesson?
When people disagree, it is worth asking what each person actually saw or experienced, because they may all be describing different parts of the same thing.