The Brahmin and the Goat
Panchatantra Stories · 1 min read
A Brahmin, having bought a fine goat for a temple sacrifice, was carrying it home on his shoulders when three rogues, spotting an easy trick, split up along his path to intercept him one at a time.
The first rogue approached and asked, with apparent concern, why the Brahmin was carrying a dog on his shoulders. The Brahmin insisted it was a goat and walked on, unsettled but certain of what he saw.
A little further along, the second rogue asked the very same question, feigning surprise that a holy man would carry an unclean dog so casually. Now genuinely doubting his own eyes, the Brahmin set the goat down and examined it closely — and, seeing nothing unusual, picked it back up, though less certain than before.
When the third rogue asked the identical question a short while later, the Brahmin's doubt finally won out entirely. Convinced he had somehow been fooled by evil spirits into seeing a goat that was truly a dog, he dropped the animal in disgust and hurried home to purify himself — while the three rogues collected the abandoned goat and shared a fine meal that evening at his expense.
Moral of the story
A lie repeated confidently enough, by enough different voices, can make a person doubt even what they clearly see.