by BobA. Troutt
*****
Jawbreakers, Bubble Gum and Stick Candy
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
There came a time when the Wise Man sat quietly in his study behind his giant, oak desk. He was studying to learn more about everything to become wiser. In his study, he was surrounded by all kinds of books that reached from the top of his desk to the ceiling. The walls were lined with books of every subject. His study was a library of knowledge.
The Wise Man was a clever old fox and sharp as a tack. He was a tall, thin man with long, stringy white hair. He had a long nose, black busy eyebrows and big dark eyes. His glasses sat snuggled on the tip of his nose. He was a wise old owl. He didn’t allow anything to get the best of him and he loved a challenge. Each day, he would read for a while, study and then think. He would ease from his desk and quietly walk around the room. Huh, he would say to himself with a sneaky grin on his face. Then he would stretch back in his chair and think some more. He wasn’t a fool; he was quite wise. A bookworm some would say.
The Wise Man was highly respected by his friends and neighbors. If anyone had an unanswered question, they went to him. He always seemed to have the answer. Many times, the Wise Man would think on an idea for weeks and months at a time. He would study the idea thoroughly and check each and every angle to be sure he understood it correctly and hadn’t missed anything. There was one thing the Wise Man was more afraid of than anything and that was to be wrong. To be wrong was his worst nightmare.
Abruptly one day, while the Wise Man was studying, they were two boys outside his window arguing. One was Jackie, a black curly headed boy with glasses and the other was Billy, Jackie’s red-headed, freckled-face friend.
As the Wise Man sat at desk, he could hear them arguing back and forth. What do we have here” he asked himself. Is it an unanswered question? Maybe I can be of a little assistance to these boys or even possibly some help. The Wise Man quietly tiptoed over to the window and slowly raised it without the boys even noticing. As he started to poke his head outside the window, he hit the top of his head.
“Ouch!” he screamed.
Quickly, he pulled his head back inside and rubbed it with his hands.
“Whew,” he went. “That hurt.”
Jackie and Billy immediately stopped arguing. All was quiet as they looked at each other. Within a few minutes, the Wise Man slowly eased his head out once more with a big smile on his face. The Wise Man thought to himself, I have a chance to show these two boys how smart I am. He liked to do that, you know.
“Jackie and Billy,” questioned the Wise Man as he cleared his throat and rubbed his head. “What seems to be the problem?”
He paused a few minutes and waited for them to reply. But, they didn’t.
“Would there be anything that I can help you with?” he asked as his eyes searched from one to the other and awaited an answer. “Boys, I am very smart,” he said with a squeaky, high voice.” Once again, he cleared his throat and said, “What seems to be the problem, boys?”
“Mr. Wise Man, we have been wondering which came first the chicken or the egg,” spoke up Jackie.
“Jackie said the egg came first and I say the chicken did. Which do you say came first?” Billy questioned.
The Wise Man looked back and forth at the two boys. He took a long, hard swallow and a deep, long breath. He was speechless; he didn’t know the answer!!! He had no idea what to say.
“Yep, Mr. Wise Man. You are a smart man and very wise,” declared Jackie. You know everything. Which do you say came first?”
Baffled by the question, the Wise Man raised up suddenly. He forgot about the window above and banged his head again. Bang!
“Ouch,” he cried.
He jerked his head back inside the window. Which came first, he thought. Was it the chicken or the egg? He peeped back out the window at the boys.
“Let me think on it for a while, boys. I’ll get back with you,” he stated.
The two boys told him they would come back later for the answer. They took off to play and left the Wise Man with the question; which came first the chicken or the egg.
The Wise Man was wise or at least he thought he was until Jackie and Billy’s question stumped him. He could tell you how planes flew, how ships sailed and how rockets soared to the moon. He was also a mathematical genius. He studied twenty different languages and spoke them fluently. He could build or do anything. There was nothing that stood in his way except one thing, which came first the chicken or the egg.
“I have never been asked such a stupid question,” he laughed as he slapped the top of his head with his hand. “Did the chicken come before the egg? Or, did the egg come before the chicken? Hmmm,” he grinned as he peered about the room to see if anyone was looking. Then he whispered softly, “I don’t know the answer,” he said as he paced back and forth across the room scratching his head. “What am I to do?” he cried. “I can’t let this get the best of me. Think! Think! Think!” he cried as he wrung his hands. “What am I to do? That’s it!” he yelled and immediately placed his hand over his mouth, afraid someone might have heard him. “That’s a great idea,” he calmly whispered. “I am so wise,” he said with a grin.
Hurriedly, he made his way over to his desk and started rummaging through his books.
“The answer has to be here in these books and I have to find it,” he cried.
Each time the Wise Man finished with a book, he would pitch it aside. He threw some to the side and some over his shoulder. Books were laying everywhere on the floor. When he finished the last book on his desk, he still hadn’t found what he was looking for.
“The answer has to be here,” he yelled, “but, where?”
Frantically, he searched the room until finally, on the very top shelf in the corner, he saw it. The book was sitting on the edge of the shelf.
“Here it is,” the Wise Man sighed in relief as he reached for the book. “I can find my answer in here. I may be wise, but I am no fool.” He paused for a second and said, “Or, am I?”
Carefully, he leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath and blew the dust off his Bible.
“Achoo,” he sneezed.
He carefully cleaned his glasses and gently placed them on his face.
“Now, let’s see,” he said with a smile.
He opened the Bible and began to read. He flipped through page after page and then he suddenly stopped.
“Here it is,” he cried, “just what I’ve been looking for. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
He continued to read. After a short while, he leaned forward and placed the Bible down on his desk and leaned back in his chair. With his glasses gritted between his teeth, he meditated a while on what he had read. The hours passed quickly. The grandfather clock chimed the hours away, tick tock, tick tock. The coo-coo clock hanging on the wall near his desk went coo-coo, coo- coo. But still, he had no answer. The Wise Man started reading again. He read until his eyes were red from strain. Unfortunately, but he still didn’t find the answer to the boys’ question. For the first time in his life, he was between a rock and a hard place. He didn’t know what to do or where to turn. How is such a simple question so hard to answer, he thought.
Time soon passed and Jackie and Billy came back to see the Wise Man for the answer to their question.
“Mr. Wise Man!” yelled the boys from outside the window.
The Wise Man got up from his desk and nervously looked around. Think, think! he mumbled to himself. I have to tell them something. What can I say? They will think I’m not wise. Think!” he cried with his hands on top of his head.
Nervously, he slipped over to the window, raised it and stuck his head outside.
“Well, Mr. Wise Man, have you decided who was right?” questioned Jackie.
“Well, Jackie,” he replied. “Didn’t God, in the beginning, create the heavens and the earth?
”
The boys looked at each other and then looked up at the Wise Man.
“Yes, sir,” they each answered.
“Couldn’t God have created the chicken and then the chicken laid the egg?”
“Are you sure, Mr. Wise Man?” asked Jackie.
The Wise Man rose up and hit his head on the window.
“Ouch!” He nervously gulped and with a quivering voice he answered, “Yep, I believe that was the way it was.”
Sweat ran down his brow as he watched the reaction of the two boys. He hoped they believed him and wouldn’t second guess his answer.
“I told you, Jackie!” yelled Billy. “The chicken came first.” Billy turned to the Wise Man and said, “We were wondering about something else. We hope you can help us with something else we have been arguing about. Do you think you will be able to help us?”
“Well, I don’t know,” the Wise Man snickered. “I guess I can,” he laughed as he tried not to show he was afraid of what they might ask. “Oh, silly me,” fidgeted the Wise Man. “What would your question be?” he asked.
“Actually, we have two questions. We want to know how in the world Noah got all those animals in the ark. And, if the world was completely covered by water, where did it all go?” asked Jackie.
The Wise Man rose up and quickly pulled his head inside. But, this time, he managed to keep from hitting his head on the window.
“I must think quickly,” he mumbled. “I have to give them an answer. Let’s see, Jackie and Billy,” said the Wise Man as he popped his head out the window once more, “It’s not meant for us to know and understand everything,” he replied. “What’s important is that God is still in control even in times when we are between a rock and a hard place.”
The two boys couldn’t believe how wise he was. Jackie and Billy thanked the Wise Man and left. The Wise Man closed the window, locked it and pulled the curtain. He went back to his desk and let out a deep sigh of relief.
“Praise the Lord,” he shouted. “I’m glad I don’t know as much as I think.”