A
bard walked into a small village near some mountains. That evening,
as was the custom, he told a story. Now, being a bard, the story
wasn't just for entertainment. Everyone in the village gathered
around a fire in the center of the village to listen to him.
"I
have just the story for you, it's about a fellow bard and some of her
travels"
This
bard, she had been travelling around for a bit and came across a
village deep in a forest. It was at least two days walk to the
nearest village from it. She was very weary from her travels and was
looking for a place to stay.A well-to-do family offered her a place
to stay for her visit. This bard, of course, reciprocated by
performing for this family.
The
following day, she walked about the village, both because she was
interested in new places and because that is how she usually came up
with new stories. Walking about, she noticed that the people rarely
acknowledged each other. If someone stumbled, no one helped them.
When she got lost and needed help to find her way back to her
host's house, she had to ask four people before any bothered to help.
That
night, she did as bards do and went to the village center to sing a
ballad. Few showed up. Thinking perhaps the villagers simply did not
know she was there or perhaps were busy with other things, she tried
again the next night. Again, few showed. She tried one last time,
hoping to share her music, songs, and news with these people. Yet
again, they did not show.
After
the third night, she left the village and walked down the road to the
next village. On her way, she thought about the people of that
village. Each was occupied by his own life and seemed to care little
about anyone else. There was no trust of the village elders. The
village commons will ill-kept. The central well was in poor shape.
Everything that was shared was in obvious need of care. The poor were
near death, the wealthy had more than enough to share without
impacting their lifestyle, yet refused to help anyone. There was no
sense of community, no sense of duty to others, no sense of
commitment to the village. She wondered if they would bother to band
together to defend the village if attacked.
As
she approached the next village, she was accosted by an armed guard.
The bard was asked who she was and why she was going into the
village. After explaining, she then had to write her name and how
long she expected to be and carry a card with when she would be
leaving.
A
wealthy family let her stay with them for the three days she would be
there. That night, everyone in the village was there. She couldn't be
certain, but there was what appeared a few people from the village.
They were all very quiet and still the whole time she sang and told
stories. The following day, she wandered around a little and noticed
that there weren't that many people in the market. No haggling over
prices either. It was very eerie.
On
her last day there, she talked to one of the people she thought she
saw in the other village. Indeed he was. Seems the people in these
two villages would live for a while in one, then move to the other,
then move back whenever they got tired of either too much
organization or too little. She could not understand that, no one
liked the way either village was run, but would not try a middle
road.
