A parable by 

Zbigniew Andrzej Nowacki

Lodz, Poland, October 2011

Long, long ago, two fishermen, Andy and Edgar, lived on the oceanfront. The former was cheerful, open-minded, easy-going, and handsome, whereas the latter was conscientious, well-balanced, self-confident, and stubborn. Andy had many friends in the nearby town and he often invited them for grand parties in his hut. The noise and crowds of visitors wandering along the beach were bothersome, but Edgar worried more about something else. The worst was that Andy was in the habit of pouring dirty water into the ocean.  

"In this way, you are polluting the environment." Edgar tried to persuade the colleague out of doing this, but he answered carelessly "The ocean is great and nothing will happen to it."

Edgar was carrying out systematic measurements of its water level, and one day he noticed that it rose. At first he supposed that this was a momentary fluctuation, but soon he became convinced that this was not the case. He calculated that if the process continued, then in 50 years' time their village would be flooded. He realized that he had to do something about it. 

Of course, Edgar thought he knew everything about the ocean.  He performed a long-term analysis and came to the conclusion that its rise was caused by the dirty water poured by his neighbor, which had been able to entail a kind of anger of Nature. For he did not see any other reasons; after all the sun was shining normally, and the rain was not heavier and more frequent than usual.

After the diagnosis was time for a therapy. Initially, Edgar slept on the beach wanting to prevent the neighbor from pouring dirty water, but Andy was always able to find a good moment to do it. In this situation, Edgar decided that in order to appease evil powers he would pour out of the ocean at least as much water as his colleague pour it there.

A view of a man gaining a bucket of ocean water and rushing to empty it on the coastal dunes must have been extremely funny. It looked as if this way the guy had wished to reduce the level of water in the ocean. Edgar saw that Andy's friends laughed at him furtively, but he did not worry about it. "I have to do this for my grandchildren" he thought. For this reason he neglected to perform his professional work, and, in consequence, the bank refused him credit on a deep-sea fishing. As a result, he became poorer and was failing in health. However, the level of the ocean continued to rise.

Edgar explained to himself that the failure of his actions was caused by other villagers who imitating Andy also poured dirty water into the ocean. "Fools, indolent losers!" the experienced sea dog irritated being convinced of his intellectual and moral superiority. And he stepped up the frequency of the circulation between the ocean and dunes.

One day, pouring - as usual - water from the ocean, Edgar noted that he had not met Andy for a long time. The old stager got anxious, for his neighbor was after all the most exposed to the vengeance of evil powers, and, in spite of these disagreements, Edgar was very fond of his younger colleague. Being full of the worst premonitions, he ran to Andy's hut. The door was open, and inside there was an indescribable mess. An envelope addressed to Edgar was left on the table. The fisherman opened it and read the following letter:

Dear Eddie,

While you were pouring the water from the ocean, I tried to determine the real cause of our troubles. I discovered a very accurate correlation between the water level and the rate of pearl formation. You could say that the more water in the ocean is, the faster the pearls are formed. But the truth is also the reverse: this accelerated growth of pearls increases the water level.

Of course, the question arises which of these factors is  primary and which is secondary. To answer it, I have got in touch with a magus who lives behind seven mountains and rivers. Well, he maintains that the primary process is the accelerated growth of pearls. He has even presented me a scholarly argument that local factors such as speed or temperature are usually more fundamental than global factors such as the amount of liquid or gas.

Therefore,  I asked the wise man what makes the pearl formation so fast. Again, he gave me a lecture from which I understood just that the reason is in space, but it is not related with the Sun, the Moon, or stars. I believe him because he had already had several successful predictions. And all the villagers are not thoroughly familiar with the Universe.

Be that as it is, I came to the conclusion that since we are not able to stop this process, we should try to take advantage of its positive aspects. I organized a long-distance pearl-hunting expedition. Using the calculation of the magus, who also took part in the expedition, we brought  unprecedentedly large specimens of unearthly beautiful luster. Currently the market is already saturated, but we managed to sell the entire load. For the money I bought a big house in the city, and no longer I have to deal with fishing.

I think that you should not worry so much about your grandchildren. In case their possessions are actually flooded, I or my friends will help them. However, the magus claims that they will cope, and the only thing that might threaten them is a big pain in the abdomen. From laughing, of course.

I greet you warmly,

                                                                                                                Andrew

P.S. Do not worry about the state of my hut. Soon I will send people who will complete the move.

THE END