The
Parable of the MapThe
Parable of the MapTwo men were aboard a small plane that went down in the trackless Sahara. They knew that if they stayed with the wreckage, they would die before rescue came. Their best chance, they decided, was to split up and try to find help.
They divided the remaining food and water equally. One man found a map in the cockpit, and this he kept to himself. Bidding each other good luck, they set out in opposite directions.
The man without the map wandered for days and nights without finding any trace of civilization, and finally died in the endless wastes.
The man with the map travelled east, as near as he could reckon, and within a few days came to an oasis where he was able to fill his canteen. He continued east, following the map, and several days later came to a small village where the people were able to feed him and send him on a truck into the nearest city.
When he reached the city, authorities were amazed that he'd been able to survive his ordeal. "I just kept following the map," he said, holding up the wrinkled piece of paper.
"That is why we are so amazed," the authorities said. "For that map is of a completely different part of the desert, a thousand miles away from here."
