There was a poor boatman living in a village. He was
illiterate. He used to row boat from morning till evening only to keep body and
soul together. The scholar said to the boatman, “Did you read history?” The
boatman said, “No”. The scholar told him that without any knowledge of history
one-fourth of his life was spoil. He looked at the beautiful scenery and asked
again whether he had read geography. As usual the reply of the boatman was in
the negative. This time the scholar said that one half of the boatman’s life
was spoil. Then they were silent for some time. It was afternoon. The scholar broke
the silence and said to the boatman, “Do you know anything about science?” “No,
nothing do I know of science”, was the answer of the boatman. The scholar said
to him that his life was of no use. Three-fourths of his life was spoil. This
time the boatman remained silent. All on a sudden, the sky became over cast
with dark clouds. The northwester began to blow. The scholar was very much
frightened. Eventually, the northwester became violent. The boatman said to
him, “Sir, do you know how to swim?” The scholar replied in the negative in a
pitiful voice. The boatman said, “The boat is going to sink. Now I see, the
whole of your life is spoiled. Your bookish knowledge is of no use”.
End
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