Blind Listening

A stupid man was sent by his father to sell salt. He first went to a mining area but nobody there wanted his salt. When he returned home, his father told him that if he had helped the miners to dig, they would have bought his salt.

The man next went to a house where a wedding was taking place. There he dug a huge hole. This made the people angry and they chased him away. When he returned home, his father told him that if he had beaten a drum and danced instead, the people there would have bought salt from him.

 Then, he went to a village where there happened to be a fire. Rushing to the place, he started drumming and dancing, only to be thrown out by the people. His father told him that he should have poured water on the fire instead, if he wanted to sell salt there.

 In the next place he went to, a couple were fighting with each other. The foolish man poured a bucketful of water on them, again to be chased away. His father later told him that he should have tried to settle the quarrel, in which case they would have bought salt from him. In the final event, the man saw two bulls fighting with each other. He stepped in to stop the fight and was gored to death by angry bulls.

Taken from English Bestseller 12, 2001