African Fable

Yerodin and Lumumba were very close friends and neighbors whose homes were separated by a narrow path between their yards.

One day, a local trickster decided that he would test their longtime friendship. The trickster put on an elaborate two-color coat that was split down the middle: red on the right, and blue on the left. He walked on the path between the two houses while Yerodin and Lumumba were farming. The trickster made a loud whistle while he was in the middle of the path, and both friends momentarily looked up and noticed him.

Then a few minutes after he had passed by, Yerodin said to Lumumba, “Did you like the red coat that man was wearing?”

“Red coat?” Lumumba replied. “No, you’re mistaken. I saw him too when he walked between us, and his coat was blue.”

“Listen,” retorted Yerodin, “I saw the coat clearly and I am sure that it was red.”

“No, no, no; you’re wrong,” replied Lumumba. “I’m absolutely sure that it was blue.”

Yerodin began getting annoyed, and said, “Hey, I know what I saw, and that coat was not blue. It was definitely red. I’m sure about this!”

“You’re not very observant,” Lumumba quickly replied, “and stubborn as well. Only a fool would not recognize that the coat was blue.”

“Oh, so you think that I’m stupid, huh?” shouted Yerodin. “Well, you’re the stupid one, because the coat was red!”

They began to shout and argue more intensely, and their shouts turned into fighting. As they battled, they suddenly heard a man laughing. They looked up, and saw the trickster wearing the two-color coat with both colors facing them.

They stopped fighting and yelled out the trickster, “You despicable man! We’ve been the best of friends for years, and now look what you’ve started between us!”

“Don’t blame me,” the trickster replied, “I’m not the one who made you two fight each other.”

“What are you taking about?” Yerodin and Lumumba skeptically asked.

The trickster continued, “Both of you were speaking the apparent truth in your argument. But the reason you ended up fighting is because you only considered my coat from your own point of view!”