99 Fables

99. The Unique Quality of Truth

99 the unique quality of truth WHEN THE OLD SCHOLAR heard that Truth was in the country, he decided to find her, as he had devoted his life to studying her in all her forms. He set out immediately, and at last he came upon the cottage in the mountains where Truth lived alone. He knocked on the door, and Truth asked what he wanted. The scholar explained who he was, adding that he had always wanted to know her and had wondered a thousand times what she really was like. Truth came to the door soon afterwards, and the scholar saw that the pictures he had formed of her in his imagination were wrong. He had thought of Truth as a gigantic woman with flowing hair who sat nobly on a white horse, or, at the very least, as a sculptured heroic [ 200 ] figure with a wide white brow and untroubled eyes. In reality, Truth was nothing at all like that; instead, she was merely a small, shapeless old woman who seemed made of some quivering substance that resembled india rubber. "All right," said the old lady in a resigned voice. "What do you want to know?" "I want to know what you are." The old lady thought, shook her head, and answered, "That I don't know. I couldn't tell you to save my life." "Then have you any special quality that makes you an individual?" asked the scholar. "Surely you must have some characteristic that is uniquely yours." "As a matter of fact, I have," said the old lady; then, seeing the question on the scholar's lips, she added, "I'll show you what I mean. It's easier than trying to explain." The shapeless old 'woman began to bounce like a rubber ball, up and down on her doorstep, getting a little higher each time she struck the floor. When she was high enough for her purpose, she seized the woodwork above her door and held on; then she said, "Take hold of my legs and walk back the way you came, and when you kno'w what my unique quality is, shout and let me know." The old scholar did as he was told, racking his brains in an effort to determine what quality it was that distinguished Truth. When he reached the road, he turned [ 201 ] around, and there in the distance was Truth still clinging to the woodwork above her door. "Don't you see by this time?" she shouted. "Don't you understand now what my particular quality is?" "Yes," said the old scholar. "Yes, I do." "Then turn my legs loose and go on home," said Truth in a small petulant voice. ...