In a jungle, there lived an owl. Since it couldn’t see during the day, it would hide in its nest on a tree throughout the day. It only came out at night for its meals. One hot summer afternoon, a monkey came from somewhere and perched on the tree where the owl had its nest. Irritated by the heat and the strong sunlight, the monkey said, “Ugh, it’s too hot. The sun in the sky is shining like a big ball of fire.”
The owl overheard the monkey’s words. Unable to resist, the owl interjected, “Are you lying? The sun doesn’t shine during the day. If you were talking about the moon, I would have believed you.”
The monkey replied, “How can the moon shine during the day? It only shines at night. That’s why the intense heat is due to the bright light of the sun.”
The owl couldn’t tolerate the contradiction and insisted, “Let’s go to my friend; he will decide the truth of whether the sun shines during the day or not.”
Both the monkey and the owl went to another tree where a large group of owls lived. The owl called them all and said, “Tell me if the sun is shining during the day or not. We need to settle this argument.”
Upon hearing the owl’s question, the entire group of owls burst into laughter. They said, “No, you fools! Like the monkey said, the sun does shine during the day. Don’t spread false information about the sun’s brightness in the sky. It’s daytime, and the heat is due to the sun, not the moon.”
Even after hearing the other owls, the owl stuck to its stubbornness. Then, the owl suggested, “Come on, let’s go to my friend, he will decide.”
Despite the group of owls clarifying the truth, the monkey and the owl went to another tree. This tree was the home to a large group of monkeys. The owl explained the situation and asked the monkeys for their opinion.
The monkey replied, “You are talking nonsense. The sun does shine during the day, and it causes the heat. Don’t spread false information.”
Despite the monkeys’ unanimous agreement, the owl was still obstinate. Witnessing this, the entire group of monkeys got angry, and they all started attacking the owl. It was daytime, and the owls were hard to spot, which allowed the monkey to escape and save itself.
The moral of the story is that foolish people never believe the words of the wise. Such foolish individuals can, with their majority, even turn the truth into falsehood.
