The Snake Charmer
There was a certain boy living in a village who once had gone to
a carnival where one of the attractions was a snake charmer. This
snake charmer showed the audience a great time by inducing the
snakes in his charge to do all manner of amazing feats – in fact, the
tricks were so incredible that they appeared to border on acts of
magic rather than some form of animal magnetism.
The young boy was completely enthralled with the show put on
by the snake charmer and from that moment on wished to become
the world’s greatest tamer of snakes. Consequently, after the
performance was over, the boy approached the snake charmer, who
was quite old, with a proposition.
The boy said: “Sir, I have greatly admired your demonstration
of skills during the show, and I would like you to teach me the secrets
of your profession. I mean no disrespect, but, sir, you are advanced
in years, and I have inquired about you. Among other things my
investigation has uncovered that you are without any family, and,
when I discovered this latter fact, I thought that, perhaps, you might
be willing to pass on your knowledge to me if I promised to work for
you during my period of apprenticeship.
“I am an orphan who has been living in the stables, doing
whatever odd jobs are available to earn my keep. So, you see, there
really is nothing tying me to this town, and if I must work for
someone, I would just as soon be in your employment while I learn
a trade in which I am deeply interested.”
The old man smiled when he heard the boys words and replied:
“I long have been looking for someone to whom I might pass on
whatever little I know about the charming of snakes. I always had
hoped that I might have a son or daughter to whom I could bequeath
this knowledge, but, unfortunately, marriage and children have
passed me by, yet, now, it seems we both are in need of one another,
and, therefore, I accept your proposition.”
For many years, the two traveled together, sometimes putting on
their shows as independent tradesmen, and sometimes doing so in
conjunction with carnivals that wandered from location to location.
During these years, the two became very close and developed great
affection for each other – the man serving as the father the boy never
knew, and the boy being the son the man never had.
The man’s knowledge about the charming of snakes was
extensive. Nonetheless, the boy was very astute and paid close
attention to everything the older man said and did. As a result,
gradually, the boy absorbed every lesson his teacher had to offer.
In fact, the boy’s interest in, and aptitude for, this profession was
such that he began to excel his mentor in many ways. The old man
could not have been happier if the boy were his own son.
More and more, the old man gave the boy, who was now a young
man, top billing and was content to just do a few snake charming
tricks here and there during the show. He preferred to watch his
student go about the process of charming snakes for the young man
was so skillful and graceful at his trade that the older man was filled
with pride and gratitude for having had the opportunity to pass on
his knowledge to someone, as well as to have had such enjoyable,
devoted company for the last decade.
Eventually, the young man became known far and wide as the
greatest snake charmer in the world. The boyhood wish had been
realized.
Soon, thereafter, the old man passed away. This greatly
saddened the young man, but he was determined to keep the promise
he had made to his teacher just prior to the latter’s death.
More specifically, the young man had promised his teacher that
he would not rest on his own already considerable laurels, and the
young man would continue to learn all he could about the charming
of snakes. As a result, the young man traveled far and wide, not only
putting on exciting and amazing exhibitions of snake charming, but,
also, always looking for opportunities to enhance his knowledge and
skills.
In one location, where the young man was conducting a number
of number of shows, he happened to here about some man who was
described as being an individual of deep knowledge and wisdom. The
young man decided to seek out this man of wisdom and see whether,
or not, this person, about whom he had heard such wondrous tales,
might be able to add to the young man’s skills and knowledge in the
area of charming snakes.
After chasing down a few leads, the young man finally
discovered the whereabouts of the alleged wise man’s residence.
Next, he sought an audience with the man and was very happy when
this was granted. The young man was told to return the next day at
noon time for some lunch.
The young man was so filled with the excitement of anticipation
he hardly could sleep the whole night. For some unknown reason, the
young man felt he might obtain some information or understanding
during his meeting with the wise man that would help bring his skills
to the perfection he long had sought.
The following day, at precisely noon, the young man knocked on
the door of the indicated house. The door opened and the young man
was escorted into a study where he was received by a friendly looking
gentleman who was, maybe, ten years, or so, older than the snake
charmer.
After exchanging pleasantries and a few pieces of life history,
while eating a lunch which had been prepared, the slightly older man
said: “I have gathered from some of my friends that you are billed as
the ‘World’s Greatest Snake Charmer’. Is that correct?”
The young man was proud of his skills but he also had some
humility and, therefore, replied: “Well, I don’t know about being the
world’s greatest snake charmer, but in all my travels I have not come
across anyone or heard of anyone who surpasses the knowledge
which has been given to me by my teacher and which I have been
able to augment with my own studies.”
The host smiled and nodded his head approvingly. He said: “Do
you think you could provide me with a demonstration, for, I must
admit to not having witnessed such things in my life, and I would be
grateful to you for filling in one of the many holes which populate my
experience.”
The snake charmer was somewhat hesitant and responded:
“Well, I would love to comply with your kind request, but I don’t
have any snakes with me, and rather than merely use the snakes
which I use in my show, perhaps, I should go out into the forest and
obtain some truly wild snakes. This general region is rather infamous
for the many species of poisonous snakes which inhabit the area, and
I am sure that with a little effort, I could supply us with some useful
specimens with which to demonstrate something of the nature of my
profession.”
The host accepted this idea, and the two agreed to meet the next
morning at nine o’clock. So, the young man went off in search of the
biggest and most poisonous snakes he could find.
For whatever reason, the young man had some difficulty in
finding the species and size of snakes he would have preferred.
Nonetheless, he was able to get a fair variety before nightfall, and he
took his catch back to his lodging and prepared for his visit the next
day.
When morning arrived, the young man collected together all he
would need to provide a demonstration of his skills and knowledge.
He, then, proceeded to return to the older man’s residence at the
appointed time.
Once, again, he was warmly received. After a brief conversation,
while drinking tea, the older man asked: “Are you ready to give your
demonstration? Should we adjoin to the patio, or can you do things
right here?”
The snake charmer indicated: “Here is fine, unless, of course,
you may have fears of some of these poisonous snakes escaping into
your house.”
The older man laughed and replied: “If you feel safe from them,
then, I also feel safe from them. So, please, proceed.”
The young man began to go about his trade. He went through his
whole repertoire, and even added a few, new tricks which he had
been working on recently.”
After he was done, he placed all the snakes in protective baskets.
After completing these tasks, he sat down.
The older man began: “Well, I am quite impressed with your
skills, but, you know, I couldn’t help noticing that the snakes you
used were not all that big and I also noticed that some of the region’s
more poisonous varieties were missing from the snakes with which
you were working. Does it make any difference how big the snakes
are or how poisonous they are? Could you still charm them?”
The young man apologized and agreed with the older man that,
yes, the snakes which had been used were not all that big and, yes, he
had been hoping to find some particularly dangerous snakes, but due
to time constraints had to cut his expedition of the previous evening
short. He added, however: “In answer to your questions, neither the
size of a snake, nor the virulence of its poison, makes any difference.
I would be able to charm any snake you might care to show me.”
The older man considered the young man’s reply and, then, said
in a very loving way: “Well, let me tell you about a snake whose
venom is so poisonous and whose size is so large that if you are able
to tame that snake, you will be a real sage, and that snake is the ego.”
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