In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

40 There Is No Truth in the World T O L D B Y W O L F S O S E N S K I T O D I N A H B E H A R Aman was traveling a long way. It was a very warm day, and he grew tired. He came to a pile of rocks and sat down to rest. Suddenly, he heard a voice from underneath the stones: “Help me get out of here! The rocks are crushing me.” The man’s heart was filled with mercy. He stood up and lifted a stone. A snake emerged and slithered away. The man thought no more about it and continued his journey. A short time later, when he lay down to rest, he felt something on his neck. He looked down and saw the snake wrapped around it. “What do you want?” he asked. “I want to strangle you,” replied the snake. “I saved you—and you want to repay me evil for good?” “There is no truth in the world,” replied the snake. “It is forbidden to sit in judgment alone,” said the man. “Come, let us travel together and find someone to judge between us. If he says you should strangle me, you may do so; otherwise, you’ll let me go.” The two traveled together until they met a horse, standing there browsing on the grass. The man went up to the horse, told him the story, and asked, “Please, judge between us.” “Strangle him!” said the horse to the snake. “There is no truth among human beings! When I was a colt, they took care of me and children played with me; but when I grew up, they made me work and I brought profit to my master. But now, when I can plow no more, they don’t feed me and I have to chew bitter grass.” “Perhaps you have a bad master,” said the man. “But there are also good men in the world who don’t behave like that. Come, let us continue our journey. Perhaps we will find another animal that has a different opinion of human beings.” The three—the man, the snake, and the horse— continued on their way. They met a large dog that was digging with its paws, searching for food. The three went up to him and the man told him what had happened. The dog’s answer was the same as the horse’s. Turning to the snake, he said, “Strangle him! When I was a puppy, they 288 took care of me and loved me. When I grew up, they put a chain on me and I guarded the sheep and barked when anything approached. But now, when I am old and can no longer bark and run, they have thrown me out. This is why I have to look in the fields for dead rats to eat. Is there any truth, justice, or righteousness in the world? Strangle the man!” “Perhaps the dog had the same master as the horse,” objected the man, “and he didn’t treat them fairly. Come, let us go to the forest and look for animals that have never served human beings. Perhaps their verdict will be different.” The snake rejected the proposal. “Don’t be too hasty to kill me,” interjected the man. “You can always do so later.” They went on and met a fox. The man with the snake wrapped around his neck said to him, “Two judges have already rendered a verdict between me and the snake, and now I want you too to judge.” “How can I judge when I didn’t see how it happened?” replied the fox. “Let us go back to where it happened, and after I see how it happened I will issue my verdict.” So they all went back. When they came to the place, the fox told the man, “Pick up the stone and show me how it happened.” Then he told the snake, “I want you to go back to the place where you were lying, so I can see exactly what the situation was.” The snake did as the fox instructed. “Leave him there under the stone!” the fox told the man. The man did as the fox suggested and the snake was left to suffocate under the stone. The man went happily on his way, with the fox accompanying him. As they walked along together, on the way the...

Share