The suspicion

"Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter who realized one day that he had forgotten his axe." He spotted his neighbor near his house, surprised and with tears in his eyes, who greeted him smilingly and warmly, as he usually did.

As he walked into his house, the woodcutter grew suspicious, suspecting that the axe had been taken by a neighbor. In fact, now that he thought about it, his grin was anxious, he had a peculiar expression in his eyes, and his hands were trembling. The neighbor, well thought, wore a thief's look, moved like a thief, and talked like a thief.

He stumbled and fell when he tripped over something hard. When he looked down, he discovered his axe! The woodcutter came home with the axe, sorry of his suspicions, and upon seeing his neighbor again, he saw that his look, gait, and manner of speaking were (and had always been) the same.

This brief narrative, which is found in many cultures but is said to have originated in China, teaches us that our ideas and suspicions may cause us to have skewed impressions of reality, allowing us to easily mistake events and others. It also teaches us not to accuse someone without proof until we have solid proof of our allegations.