The Silent Stranger

In a busy village, a stranger arrived and sat under a big tree. 

He was just like any ordinary villager. He had a long beard and sharp eyes.

After some time, passers-by asked him politely,

“Who are you? Where do you come from?”

The stranger didn’t answer. He just looked at them and smiled.

When everybody in the village came to know about the strange behavior of the stranger, they started talking about him.

“I think he is deaf and dumb” said the Headman.

The stranger looked at the Headman and simply smiled.

“Perhaps he is mad” said a Landlord.

The stranger looked at the Landlord and simply smiled.

“Do you think that he is perhaps a convict who has escaped from prison?” asked a young man.

The stranger looked at the young man and simply smiled.

“He is a great yogi” said the Priest and put a flower garland around his neck.

The stranger looked at the Priest and smiled. 

For six days, the people of the village gathered around the stranger and speculated about who he was. Out of kindness, they offered him food and a place to sleep at night. 

 Every time someone said something about him, the stranger smiled. The villagers grew more and more curious about him.

On the seventh day, when the people gathered around him, the stranger said, “Listen to me”.

Everybody turned to him in rapt attention and wide eyes.

The stranger said:

“I am just an ordinary man. I had a very big mouth and talked a lot. My talking always got me into trouble. So I went to a guru to seek advice. He told me to practice silence for a week. Believe me, it is not easy. Every time, one of you made a wrong speculation about me, I was tempted to speak. But then I remembered my guru’s words and stopped the words from escaping my lips with a tight smile. I wish to thank all of you for this lesson.”

All the villagers clapped in admiration for the stranger’s vow of silence.  

They thought about all the careless words that they themselves used every day and decided to make a change.

(Retold)