The Four Scholarly Clowns

Moral of the story: Knowledge without understanding invites mockery

Once upon a time, there were four Brahmins who were very good friends. They lived in a small town.

One day, they decided to study a lot and learn many things. They thought that if they became very smart, they could earn money. They knew they had to go to another town to learn more.

So, they travelled to a new city and joined a special school called a hermitage. They studied very hard for twelve years and learned many different subjects.

One day, they talked to each other and said, “We have learned so much now. Let’s ask our teacher if we can leave this school. We are ready to use our knowledge to make money.”

They asked their teacher if they could leave, and he gave them his blessings for success. They then began their journey, carrying all their important books. After traveling for a while, they reached a place where the road split into two different paths.

They started thinking about which path they should take to continue their journey.

At the same time, in a nearby town, a merchant’s son had passed away. As they were deciding, a large funeral procession came their way. Many important people were in the procession, and they were heading to the cremation ground. One of the Brahmins looked at their holy books and said, “We should follow the path that great people take!” So, they decided to follow the funeral procession.

When they reached the cremation ground, the people in the procession stopped and began the funeral ceremony. The Brahmins then started thinking about what to do next.

While they were thinking, they saw a donkey nearby. One Brahmin looked at their holy books again and said, “A true friend is someone who stays with you in both happy and sad times!”

So, they decided that the donkey was their true friend. They hugged the donkey, petted and kissed him, and even washed his feet with water.

Just then, they saw a camel running towards them from far away. One of the Brahmins quickly looked at their holy books and said, “Goodness moves quickly!” So, they thought the camel must be the symbol of goodness coming towards them.
 
Another Brahmin looked at their holy books and said, “A good person should always help their friend do the right thing!”

So, they stopped the camel and introduced it to the donkey. Then, they tied the donkey to the camel to help their friend do the right thing. The camel started walking, pulling the donkey along with it.

The donkey’s owner was a washerman. When he saw the four Brahmins tying his donkey to the camel, he got very angry and chased after them with a stick.
 
When the four friends were chased, they ran for their lives and reached a river. They saw a leaf from a holy tree floating on the water.

One of the Brahmins said, “Holiness will help us cross the river of life!” He jumped onto the leaf to cross the river, but he couldn’t swim and started to drown.

Seeing his friend in trouble, another Brahmin jumped into the river to save him. He grabbed his friend by the neck, but the river’s currents were too strong. He remembered from their holy books, “When a wise person knows that everything might be lost, they should save half and work with the rest!”
 
He quickly took out his sword and cut his friend in half. This way, he was able to pull him to the riverbank. But by then, his friend had already died.

They felt very sad about losing their friend, but the three remaining Brahmins continued their journey.

After wandering for a while, they reached a village. The villagers were very kind and welcomed them warmly. They offered them different houses to stay in and decided that three different families would serve them dinner.
 
One Brahmin was given sweet noodles to eat. He remembered from his holy books, “Long plans can lead to trouble!” So, he didn’t eat the noodles and stayed hungry all night.

Another Brahmin was given a bowl of frothy soup. He remembered from his holy books, “Things that are frothy and puffy don’t last long!” So, he didn’t eat the soup and stayed hungry all night too.
 
The third Brahmin was given tasty food with a hole in the middle. He remembered from his holy books, “Flaws are a sign of danger!” So, he didn’t eat the food and stayed hungry all night too.

In the morning, when the villagers found out that the Brahmins didn’t eat their dinners, they laughed and made fun of them.

Feeling angry, the three remaining Brahmins decided to leave the village. As they started their journey, the villagers followed them for a long distance, laughing and mocking them the whole way.

Moral of the story: Knowledge without understanding invites mockery.