Story | When Villagers Saw The Heavens

Once upon a time, there was a person in a village who was not very wise. His name was Alas. Alas would often do silly things and as a result, he would suffer the consequences. Sometimes he would break his leg or hurt himself because of his foolish actions. One day, Alas did something extremely foolish. He actually poked needles into both of his eyes. This caused him to become blind and he couldn't see anything around him anymore. He soon realized that he had once again done something really foolish. He was afraid that people would make fun of him and mock his stupidity. He started thinking, "What should I tell other people?" Then, he got an idea.

The next morning, Alas, who couldn't see anything, was walking through the streets holding a stick. Suddenly, a lot of people surrounded him and started asking him what had happened. An old person asked, "Alas, have you become blind? Why are you walking with a stick?" Alas, who was prepared to answer this question, replied, "Oh, you see, I poked needles into my eyes. But I haven't actually become blind; now I can see the Heavens."

Someone from the crowd asked, "How is that possible? How can you see the Heavens now?" Alas confidently responded, "Yes, I can see the Heavens now! Poking needles through my eyes has given me that power." People didn't believe Alas, but he kept repeating the same words every day to avoid being laughed at.

After a few days, a certain person started thinking, "Maybe Alas is telling the truth. What harm is there in trying? If I can also see the Heavens, it would be amazing." So, this person also poked needles into his eyes and became blind. Sadly, he couldn't see the Heavens or anything else anymore. He was terribly shocked. He immediately went to Alas and asked him, "Hey, you told me that if I poke needles into my eyes, I would be able to see the Heavens. But on the contrary, I can't see anything around me now. What does all this mean?"

Alas smiled and replied, "My dear friend, you have become blind now. You won't be able to see anything. But don't tell this to other people, or they will laugh at you." This made the person sad, and after a while, he said with a heavy heart, "Alas, you lied to me. You deceived me. What should I do now?"

Alas replied, "Now that you are blind, you shouldn't tell the truth because people will laugh at you. So, the only option left is to say that you can also see the Heavens now." The poor villager, in order to avoid being ridiculed by others, started telling the other villagers that poking needles into his eyes was a wonderful experience. He claimed that he could now see the Heavens too. He praised Alas as a great scholar who had done him a favor.

When the other villagers heard this, they were astonished. Gradually, they started believing Alas and the other villager. Soon, others followed their example, and over time, all the villagers became blind. They kept saying that they too could see the Heavens, so that the other villagers wouldn't laugh at their foolish actions.

The moral of the story is: Never follow the advice of a foolish person.