The legend is told of a village where all the inhabitants were blind. When a man passed one day riding an elephant, a group of the village men cried out asking the rider to let them touch the great beast, for though they had heard about elephants, they had never been close to one.

About six of them were allowed to approach the animal, each being led to touch a different part of the body. After a time, the rider left, and the blind men hurried back to the people to share their experience. "So what is an elephant like?" the people in the crowd asked their six friends.

"Oh, I know all about elephants," boasted the man who had touched the animal's side. "He is long and narrow, built like a thick wall."

"Nonsense!" shouted the man who had touched the elephant's tusk. "He is rather short, round, and smooth, but very sharp. I would compare an elephant to . . . well, let's say a spear."

A third man, who had touched the ear, chimed in. "It is nothing like a wall or spear. An elephant is like a gigantic leaf, made of thick wool carpet, that moves when you touch it."

"I disagree," said the fourth man who had handled the trunk. "An elephant is much like a large snake."

The fifth man shouted his disapproval. He had touched a leg of the great beast. "It is plain to me than none of you knows what an elephant looks like. It is round and reaches toward the heavens like a tree."

The sixth man, who had been placed on the elephant's back, cried out, "Can none of you accurately describe an elephant? He is like a gigantic moving mountain."

To this day, the argument has not been resolved, and the people of that village still have no idea what an elephant looks like.