One day, a man was working attentively in a field.
Right next to him, on the branch of a tree, sat a mischievous monkey with a playful nature. The monkey often liked to scare people for fun—sometimes by throwing bunches of leaves, other times by making sudden noises to startle them.
Just then, a kite swooped past him from behind. Before the man could make sense of anything, the monkey shouted out in jest, “Oh no! The kite took the ear!”
Startled, the man immediately touched his ear in panic. But he was so terrified that even after touching his ear, he couldn’t understand anything. Gripped by fear and confusion, without wasting a moment, he screamed—“The kite took the ear! The kite took the ear!”—and started running after the kite.
Hearing his screams, the villagers came rushing. One said, “It went that way!” Another said, “No no, the kite flew west!” Everyone started running together to catch the kite.
After quite some time, an elderly and wise man approached and asked,
— “Has your ear really been taken?”
The man then stopped and touched his ear again. This time, feeling a bit more calm, he realized—
— “Oh! My ear is perfectly fine!”
Everyone burst into laughter. The old man said,
— “Don’t believe in rumors without seeing or understanding the truth. Check for yourself first, then believe.”
Moral
Instead of listening to rumors, it is wiser to first verify things on your own.