三個玩偶

The 1）Sultan of Persia was a clever man—well read. And there was nothing he loved more than solving problems， puzzles， riddles. One day， he received a parcel； he knew not from whom. He opened that package and found a box. And when he opened the lid of the box， inside were the three most beautifully carved wooden dolls. He picked them up one by one and admired the craftsmanship， and then saw that there was a note in the box as well...

“Tell these three dolls apart.”

“Ah， a challenge，” thought the Sultan. “...to tell these three dolls apart！”

He picked up the first doll and examined it. The features of the face were beautifully carved， the clothes of silk so brightly patterned.

He picked up the second. It was 2）identical， even the grain of the wood； and the third， the same again.

“These three dolls are identical.”

Now he examined further： “They look the same， perhaps they will not smell the same.”

But as he sniffed at each one， the smell of 3）sandalwood greeted his 4）nostrils. “These are finely made， beautiful dolls.”

He took the first doll and now thought，“Perhaps it is hollow.” He shook the doll next to his ear... No， it was solid. And the second doll too， and the third. They were alike in everything， even their weight.

The court had gathered. They watched the Sultan who was now mystified. He called forth the wisest man he knew： the Scholar. The Scholar who knew everything that was to be known， the Scholar who spent so many hours in the library.

The Scholar looked at each doll in turn： felt them， weighed them， shook them， but could find no difference. He walked away silently.

Now， through the doors of the throne-room， burst the Fool. He tumbled and saw the three dolls， picked them up and began to juggle with them... “ha ha！” And then became bored， put them down and left.

Well the Scholar could find no difference， neither could the Fool. But now stepped forward the Storyteller.

“Can you tell these three dolls apart？”

The Storyteller picked up the first doll and examined it carefully， and then suddenly reached forward and 5）plucked a straight hair from the King’s beard. He inserted the end of the hair into the ear of the first doll. It went further and further into the head of the doll， until it disappeared completely.“Huh，” said the storyteller.“This doll is like the Scholar： everything he hears goes in and is retained inside.”

Now， the Storyteller reached forward and plucked a second hair from the King’s beard before he could be stopped. He put that hair into the ear of the second doll. The hair disappeared slowly inside as the Sultan watched， and then appeared on the other side of the head， emerging out of the other ear. It came right through.

“Why，” said the Storyteller， “this doll is like the Fool. Everything he hears goes in one ear and out the other.”

Before the Sultan could stop him， a third hair had been plucked from his chin... “Ow！”

The Storyteller inserted the third straight hair from the King’s beard into the ear of the third doll. It went further and further in. The Sultan watched to see where it would come out. Did it come out？

It came out through the pursed lips of the third doll. But when it came right through， the Storyteller saw that there was a twist in it. “Why， this doll is the Storyteller. What he hears goes in， and then it gets retold with a small twist. For every storyteller changes the story just a little to make it his own.”

波斯的蘇丹是個聰明人—博學愛讀。他最愛做的事莫過于解難、答疑和猜謎了。有一天，他收到一個小包裹，但投寄人不詳。他打開包裹，發現里面有個盒子。他打開盒蓋，里面放著三個雕工最為精美的木頭玩偶。他逐一拿出來，對雕刻工藝贊嘆不已，這時，他看到盒子里還有一張紙條……

“將三個玩偶區分出來。”

“啊，是一個挑戰，”蘇丹心想，“……將三個玩偶區分開來！”

他拿起第一個玩偶，仔細觀察。玩偶的面部五官都經過精雕細琢，絲質服飾都經過精巧搭配。

他拿起第二個。樣子一模一樣，連木頭的紋理也一致；第三個亦如是。

“這三個玩偶都是一樣的。”

現在他看得更仔細了：“它們看起來一樣，或許聞起來不一樣。”

當他對每個玩偶逐一細聞時，檀香的香氣飄進他的鼻孔。“這些都是精心制作的漂亮玩偶。”

他拿起第一個玩偶，心想：“可能它是空心的。”他把玩偶放到耳邊，搖了搖……不，是實心的。第二個玩偶也是，第三個亦如此。它們在各個方面都極為相似，甚至連重量也一樣。

各路大臣都齊聚一堂。他們都看著困惑不解的蘇丹。他把自己所知的最有智慧的人—學者召到跟前。學者懂得所有該知道的事，他在圖書室里花費了很多時間。

學者又把每個玩偶看了一遍：觸摸、稱重、搖晃，但都找不到不同之處。他默默地走開了。

這時，愚者穿過蘇丹的覲見室的門，闖了進來。他摔了一跤，看到三個玩偶，就撿起來，開始搗騰起來。“哈哈！”接著，他厭煩了，將玩偶放下，離開了。

學者找不出不同之處，愚者也沒找到。