Others also said things about him that he heard or understood imperfectly

"May I sit up ? " he asked, in pause " struggle against you again "

They consulted and let him rise

The voice of an older man began to question him, and Nunez found himself trying to explain the great world out he had fallen, sky and mountains and sight and such-like marvels, elders who sat in darkness Country Blind And believe and understand nothing whatever them, thing quite outside his expectation not even understand many words For fourteen generations these people blind and cut off from all the seeing world; the names for all the things of sight had faded and changed; the story outer world was faded and changed to child's story; had ceased to concern themselves with anything beyond the rocky slopes above their circling wall Blind men of genius had arisen among them and questioned the shreds of belief and tradition they had brought from their seeing days, and had dismissed all these things as idle fancies, and replaced them with new and saner explanations Much imagination had shrivelled with their eyes, had made for themselves new imaginations with their ever more sensitive ears and finger-tips Slowly Nunez realised this; that his expectation of wonder and reverence at his origin gifts was not borne out; and after his poor attempt to explain sight set aside confused version of new-made being describing the marvels incoherent sensations, he subsided, little dashed, into listening instruction eldest blind men explained to him life and philosophy and religion, how world (meaning their valley) first an empty hollow rocks, and then had come, first, inanimate things without the gift of touch, and llamas and few other creatures that had little sense, and then men, and at last angels, whom one could hear singing and making fluttering sounds, but whom no one could touch at all, which puzzled Nunez greatly until he thought birds

He went on Nunez how divided warm cold, which are the blind equivalents of day and night, and how good to sleep warm and work during the cold, now, but advent, the whole town blind asleep Nunez must specially created to learn and serve the wisdom, they had acquired, for all his mental incoherency and stumbling behaviour courage, and do his best to learn, and all the people doorway murmured encouragingly the night-- blind call their day night--was now far gone, and it behoved back to sleep He asked Nunez if how to sleep, and Nunez said , but that before sleep food

They brought him food--llama's milk in bowl, and rough salted bread--and led him into lonely place, to eat out hearing, and afterwards to slumber until the chill mountain evening roused them their day again But Nunez slumbered not at all

Instead, he sat up place where they had left him, resting his limbs and turning the unanticipated circumstances arrival over and over mind

Every he laughed, sometimes with amusement, and sometimes with indignation

"Unformed mind ! " "Got no senses yet ! They little know they've been insulting their heaven-sent king and master bring them to reason Let me think--let me think "

still thinking sun set

Nunez had an eye for all beautiful things, and it seemed to him glow snowfields and glaciers that rose valley on every side most beautiful thing he had ever seen His eyes went inaccessible glory village and irrigated fields, fast sinking twilight, and suddenly wave of emotion took him, and he thanked God bottom heart power of sight given him

He heard voice calling to him from village "Ya ho there, Bogota ! Come hither ! "

he stood up smiling show these people once and for all what sight would do for man seek him, but not find him

"You move not, Bogota," said the voice

He laughed noiselessly, and made two stealthy steps aside path

"Trample not grass, Bogota; allowed "

Nunez had scarcely heard the sound himself He stopped amazed

The owner voice came running up the piebald path towards him

He stepped back pathway "Here ,"

"Why did you not come when I called you ? " said the blind man "Must you be led like child ? Cannot you hear the path walk ? "

Nunez laughed " it,"

" no such word as see_," said the blind man, after pause "Cease this folly, and follow the sound feet "

Nunez followed, little annoyed

" will come,"

"You'll learn," the blind man answered " much to learn "

"Has no one told you, ' Country Blind the One-eyed Man is King' ? "

" blind ? " asked the blind man carelessly over his shoulder

Four days passed, fifth found the King Blind still incognito, as clumsy and useless stranger among his subjects

, , much more difficult to proclaim himself than he had supposed, and meantime, while he meditated his coup d'tat,_ what told and learnt the manners and customs Country Blind working and going about at night particularly irksome thing, and he decided that that the first thing change

They led simple, laborious life, these people, with all the elements of virtue and happiness, things understood by men They toiled, but not oppressively; they had food and clothing sufficient for their needs; they had days and seasons of rest; they made much of music and singing, and love among them, and little children

marvellous with what confidence and precision they went about their ordered world Everything, , made to fit their needs; each radiating paths valley area had constant angle others, and was distinguished by special notch upon its kerbing; all obstacles and irregularities of path or meadow had long since been cleared away; all their methods and procedure arose naturally from their special needs Their senses had become marvellously acute; hear and judge the slightest gesture of man dozen paces away--could hear the very beating heart Intonation had long replaced expression , and touches gesture, and their work with hoe and spade and fork was as free and confident as garden work Their sense of smell was extraordinarily fine; distinguish individual differences as readily as dog can, went tending llamas, who lived rocks above and came wall for food and shelter, with ease and confidence only when at last Nunez sought to assert himself that how easy and confident their movements

He rebelled only after he had tried persuasion

He tried at first on several occasions them of sight "Look you here, you people," " things understand in me "

attended to him; they sat with faces downcast and ears turned intelligently towards him, and his best them what Among his hearers was girl, with eyelids less red and sunken others, one could almost fancy she was hiding eyes, whom especially he hoped He spoke beauties of sight, of watching the mountains, sky sunrise, heard him with amused incredulity that presently became condemnatory They told him there were indeed no mountains at all, but end rocks where the llamas grazed was indeed the end world; thence sprang cavernous roof universe, the dew avalanches fell; and when he maintained stoutly the world had neither end nor roof such supposed, they said his thoughts were wicked as describe sky and clouds and stars it seemed hideous void, terrible blankness place smooth roof to things they believed-- an article of faith cavern roof was exquisitely smooth touch that in some manner he shocked them, and gave up that aspect matter altogether, and tried to show them the practical value of sight One morning Pedro path called Seventeen and coming towards the central houses, but still too far off for hearing or scent, and them "In little while," he prophesied, "Pedro here " An old man remarked that Pedro had no business on path Seventeen, and then, in confirmation, that individual as he drew near turned and went transversely into path Ten, and so back with nimble paces towards the outer wall They mocked Nunez when Pedro arrive, and afterwards, when he asked Pedro questions to clear his character, Pedro denied and outfaced him, and was afterwards hostile to him

Then he induced them to let him go long way up the sloping meadows towards the wall with one complacent individual, and to him he promised to describe all that happened houses He noted certain goings and comings, but the things that really seemed to signify people happened inside of or behind the windowless houses--the only things they took note of to test him by--and he or tell nothing; and failure attempt, ridicule repress, that he resorted to force He thought of seizing spade and suddenly smiting to earth, and so in fair combat showing the advantage of eyes He went resolution seize his spade, and then he discovered new thing about himself, was impossible for him to hit blind man in cold blood

He hesitated, and found them all aware that he had snatched up the spade They stood alert, with their heads on one side, and bent ears towards him for what do next

"Put that spade down," said one, and sort of helpless horror near obedience

Then he thrust one backwards against house wall, and fled past him and village