“I have brought a rope to pull you out with. There, now, hold on tight to that end, and don’t let go while I pull.”
“A rope? Please inform me what a rope is before you pull.”
“A rope is a thing to get people out of ditches with, when they have fallen in and can’t get out by themselves.”
“But how is it that no mechanical device has been constructed for that purpose?”
“That would take time; but you will not have to wait until then. Now, then——”
“Time? Please explain first what you mean by time.”
“Time is something that I am not going to waste on a fool like you. So you may stay where you are until I come back.”
Upon which the man went off, and left his foolish son to himself.
Now, would it not be a good thing if all eloquent windbags were gathered together and thrown into the ditch, to keep him company? Yes, surely. Only it would take a much larger ditch than that to hold them.
—The Fables.