“He couldn’t be a good king if he wasn’t wise,” was the smiling retort.
“Just so. I agree with you. But what is wisdom? Can you describe it?”
“Can you describe the sunlight, Spotted Tail? You see it every day, and you know it when you see it. But can you describe it?”
“I can describe it by saying that it is just the opposite of darkness,” Spotted Tail replied, a little at a loss for a good answer to this unexpected question.
“Then I can describe wisdom in the same way. It’s the opposite of ignorance.”
Spotted Tail frowned when the others laughed and clapped their paws at this retort.
“But what I meant,” continued the discomfitted rabbit, recovering his composure, “is the application of wisdom. How do we know a thing is wise until we’ve tried it?”
“How do we know a thing is hot or cold until we’ve burnt or frozen our paw? By experience, Spotted Tail, we know that it isn’t necessary to run into a fire and scorch ourselves every time we see one to find out whether it is hot.”
“Exactly, Bumper, but some things we don’t know by experience. Suppose you had never been in the water and didn’t know how to swim, but you’d seen other animals swim. Now, if you fell in the water, what would you do? Would the knowledge that you’d seen others swim save you?”
“Perhaps,” replied Bumper, hesitatingly. Then, smiling, he added: “But the first thing I’d do would be to look around for a raft. That would be safer than trying to learn to swim. Don’t you think that would be the wise thing to do?”