The Dragon and The Pond

Once a honorable man heard a story about a nearby place. There was a dragon living by a pond and where this occurred, many gathered to witnessed this strange thing. He kept hearing of the dragon and the pond, and though, as an educated man, he had never believed in dragons, so many spoke of it, he decided he would go see this unusual occurrence himself.

when he reached the pond, he could not find any dragon. He did encounter a man and so he asked about the dragon who was suppose to live near the pond. The man said, "What silliness is this? A dragon is fire and terror. A pond is water and peace. How could you ever expect the two to coexist together?"

So the honorable man left the pond and went into a nearby town, where he entered a temple. There he met a monk. He told the monk the all about hearing of the dragon and the pond and coming to see if it was true. He mentioned his visit to the pond and finding no dragon. He described his encounter with the man and the remarks the man made to him. After listening patiently to his tale, the monk laughed lightly, and said to him, "Things in our world are just what they are. What belongs together comes together. What does not belong together is separated."

Now completely confused, the honorable man left the temple and the town and wandered back to the shore of the pond. It was now late in the evening. It was getting very dark. The only light was what was provided by the moon overhead. As he sat on the sand near the pond, he watched the moonlight glimmer on the pond's surface. Suddenly from somewhere behind him, in the dark shadows, he heard a voice speaking to him. "You look so sad sitting there. Why are you alone, sitting on the edge of this pond?"

"You startled me. I cannot see you in this darkness. Please step out where I can see you, so I know you mean me no harm"

Again the voice sounded from the dark, "Alas, it is probably best I remain where I am. I am hideous to view and I am afraid I might frighten you terribly. I have been consumed by flame. Allow me, please, to remain where I am, in the shadows. I assure you, I mean you no harm."

"If you must, I understand. I do not wish to make you uncomfortable. I, myself, sit here because I came today to experience the mysteries I have been hearing about of the dragon and this pond. However, when I arrived, I found there was no dragon and I had been fooled. As an honorable man, I should have known better. I encountered a man who mocked me for being here. I entered the town only to run into a monk who laughed at my misfortune. Now I have returned here. I had thought I might have a brief swim to clean myself and relax before heading home, but, like everything else today, even that was not to be. The water is much too cold to enter. It seems everything I attempted this day turned out differently then I thought it would."

I am sorry to hear of your unfortunate day. I cannot believe, knowing the people around here as well as I do, that anyone really would mock you or make fun of you for the beliefs you had. However, be that as it may, did you say the water was too cold for you? Here, just step back a bit; I'll warm it up for you."