The trial | Anecdotes, parables and organizational reflections

Anecdotes, parables, fables
and reflections

Contents Parables and stories to teach values

An old legend says that in the middle ages a very virtuous man was unjustly accused of murder. The culprit was a very influential person of the Kingdom, and so from the first moment we sought to find a scapegoat to conceal it.

The man was brought to trial and understood that it would have little opportunity to escape the gallows. The judge, although he was also conniving, cared keep all appearances of a trial fair. So he told the defendant:

Knowing your fame of righteous man, I will leave your fate in the hands of God: I will write the words 'guilty' and 'innocent' in two separate roles. You choose, and will be Providence, which decides your fate.

Of course, the perverse official had prepared two papers with the same legend: "Guilty". The victim, even without knowing the details, realized that the system was a trap. When the judge ordered him to take one of the roles, the man took a deep breath and remained silent a few seconds with his eyes closed. When room was already beginning to grow impatient, he opened his eyes, with a smile, took one of the roles, put it to his mouth and engulfed it quickly. Surprised and outraged, the present reproached him.

- But, what did? How can now Devils we know the verdict?

-It is very simple - replied the man. Is a question of reading the paper that remains, and will know what he said to me he swallowed.

With Mumbles and a badly-disguised anger, they should release the defendant, and never returned to molest him.

More difficult is to present us with a situation, never stop search output, nor of the fighting until the last moment. In times of crisis, only the imagination is more important than knowledge.

Albert Einstein
Translated for educational purposes