The Girl, the Baby, and the Blind.

The following is a parable.

In my dream I saw a little girl carrying a baby doll. It was obvious that she was very much in love with the doll, for she carried it everywhere and worked very hard to take care of it.

Also in my dream there were many people standing around. They were all blind.

They heard the sounds that the little girl made when she was caring for the doll baby. They heard her speak words of endearment to it. They heard her coos and kisses.

They marvelled at her love. "What a loving person she is. She really loves that baby," they said to each other. They willingly gave her money and other goods because they recognized that she was doing such a good thing.

They thought the baby was real.

The little girl accepted all the good things that were given to her. She piled the goods about the doll. She was very happy as she continued her pretend game.

Soon she came to demand more and more from all the blind people. They could not refuse her tears when she said that her "baby" needed more and more of their goods.

The blind people wept over her kindness and love and care for the baby. They did not know that the baby was a doll, a fake baby. Because they were blind they could not see that the little girl was living a fantasy that seemed real to her.

Then in my dream I saw an old man. His eyes were dim, but he could see faintly. He wondered at all the wealth being showered on the doll. "That doll is not alive," he said. "It will never live. The girl does not love; she is just pretending."

The poor old man. The last thing he saw before he was torn to pieces by the blind men, was the painted smile on the face of the doll.

He that has ears to hear, let him hear.