A parable

There once was a town with one well and everyone was sick all the time. Each citizen of this town survived only because there was an abundance of barely edible roots in the area. No one enjoyed more than a few moments in the day and none slept much at night.

One day, a certain man from that town discovered a spring far from the town's only well. He drank from the spring and the next day he felt a little less sick. So he went to the spring again and felt better still. Soon he was healthy and going to spring every day.

This man began to search farther away for food, and he discovered various fruits and grains that tasted better and were more nutritious than the roots near the town. So he became stronger and more energetic.

In the meantime, the people of the town noticed the change in this one man and they began to say to themselves, "Who does he think he is drinking different water and eating different food? He even is acting differently from us."

When the man heard what his neighbors said about him, he became ashamed. "Come," he said, "let me show you the spring with healthy water and the fruit and grains that make me strong." And some of the people came and saw. But others scoffed, "This man is trying to kill us! We have plenty of food and water right here."

And the town was divided between those who drank from the spring and those who drank from the well, those who ate roots and those who ate fruits and grains, and those who were sick and those who were healthy and strong.