~ 188. The Ants and the Pen ~

Laura Gibbs · 188. The Ants and the Pen

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An ant crawled onto a piece of paper and watched a pen writing.

She went and told another ant. "This pen creates beautiful shapes. Come look!"

The other ant watched. "The pen is an instrument of the fingers," she said.

"No!" said a third ant. "The arm is what guides the fingers."

Then the wisest of the ants explained, "You are all mistaken. Think not of the material world, which is but an outward garment. The pen does not write, nor the finger, nor the arm nor any part of the body; it is the spirit who moves the pen."

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Inspired by: The English prose version of Rumi in More Tales from the Masnavi by A. J. Arberry.
Notes: This is story 133 in the book.