I thought this would be something to think about. This is a fairytale story from Fruits Basket, told by Momitchi Sohma, the sign of the rabbit. Yes, he's a boy.

"...In class, we read a story called "The Most Foolish Traveler In The World." A foolish traveler was on a journey. He was stupid because he was easily tricked. The townspeople took advantage of him. On that journey, he was tricked into giving away all of his money, clothes, and shoes. But the traveler was foolish, so when the townspeople lied to him saying “This will really help”...tears would stream down his face, and he would say “Please be happy.” When he gave away his last belongings, he was naked and ashamed to be seen. So he decided to travel in the forest. Then he met the monsters of the forest. They wanted to eat him so they tricked him with clever words. Of course the traveler was fooled and when the monsters asked, he gave up his arms and his legs."

"Eventually, he was nothing but a head. He even gave his eyes to the last monster he met. As the monster munched on his eyes, he said “Thank you. I’ll give you this in return.” and left him. But that was a lie, too. His gift was a single piece of paper that had “fool” written on it. But the traveler cried and cried saying “Thank you, thank you. This is the first time anyone’s given me anything. I’m so happy. Thank you, thank you.” And tears kept flowing from his eye sockets. And while he was crying...he died."

"Everyone in the class laughed. But I thought about the traveler, and thought...how lucky...he was."

"Loss, suffering; It’s pointless to think about them. That might be stupid to some people, but not to me. I won’t trick anyone, even if the other people think that person deserves it. I just want to make them happy."


What do you think...when you close your eyes?"


When I first read this story, I never felt so bad for a fictional character before. I suppose most people will think that the traveler was a brainless idiot, but he was one of those brainless idiots who only meant good in the world. Can you honestly call someone a moron...who thought nothing short of helping people?

Would you really condemn someone for just trying to make life a little easier for another?