A fool set out on a journey. Yes a Fool! Everyone who saw him instantly knew that was what he was. His face was so innocent. He always smiled. He had not a care in the world. He imagined that anyone who did have a care was the fool instead of him. He was too sweet and charming to be seen as arrogant but in a way he was. I will tell you where he went in a minute.

Now what was this fools name? Let’s just call him Ned. Ned walked about in the world as if it was his personal playground. He whistled as he went, always a merry tune. He lived in a village and his people provided for him and that wasn’t always easy for them but he never noticed that.

Ned spent a lot of the day idling about in the woods. He liked watching nature. That wasn’t stupid in itself of course but he had a habit of poking his nose into places he shouldn’t, like hornet nests and badger holes. I am sure you can imagine the consequences of that! He had been bitten by a badger and stung by a hornet and he was lucky the whole nest didn’t set upon him. Did he learn from this? Well, no.

People told him he should learn from his mistakes. He had no idea what they meant. Surely the same thing wouldn’t happen to him again whether he learned or not. That was his simple minded philosophy. His curiosity far outweighed his wisdom, you can be sure of that.

Ned went on his merry way caring about nothing and taking it for granted that everyone looked after him as much as they could.

One day he was out in the woods and he went further than usual. It began to get dark but he didn’t care about that. It started to get cold and he found a cave to shelter in. He didn’t go in very far.

In the middle of the night he heard the sound of heavy breathing, almost a snore, further back in the cave. I ask you, what would you have done? The sensible thing?

I am not sure that I wouldn’t have done exactly as Ned did in fact. If  he didn’t do it there wouldn’t be a story to tell. You all know that.

So he did what a natural born fool always does. He got up and stumbled along deeper into the cave. Now let’s have a guessing game. Who or what is snoring?

Well it’s obvious really. A dragon. Asleep. Ned can tiptoe away. But does he? Oh no! He has to have a much closer look of course, being Ned the Fool. He noticed that its huge foot, which had very long sharp claws, was resting on something but he couldn’t see what it was so he lifted the dragon’s foot. That had obvious consequences.

The dragon stirred and woke up. Ned didn’t run. Even the dragon was surprised at that. The dragon stared at Ned for a moment and Ned just stood and stared back. Ned was still curious about what had been under the dragon’s foot and he glanced down. He saw a ball of crystal that glimmered and gave out a light. The dragon followed his eyes and then gave a mighty roar. Ned clapped his hands to his ears but didn’t move. He stood transfixed at the sight of the beautiful Orb.

In the light of the Orb Ned saw that there was a huge chasm directly behind him that he had somehow blindly avoided on the way in. The dragon reared up and spewed fire above Ned’s head; a warning blast. Ned bent down a little, covering his head. The dragon swung round and hit Ned a swift blow with his huge tail, which spun Ned in the air and into the abyss. Ned fell for what seemed to him an age. Through the air he fell, head over heals. The world was up, the world was down, the walls of the abyss spun. The pit was full of light. The Orb had fallen after him.

Ned landed on his back with a thud that shook his skeleton to its core with a judder. He was lucky. He had landed on a pile of soft earth and leaves. The Orb landed right in his lap. The dragon roared above but couldn’t reach Ned. Ned sat and gazed at the Orb.

As Ned gazed at the Orb he began to see pictures and visions. It was an endless procession of lessons and consequences, actions and results; his past, his present, his future. He saw how beautiful nature is but he also saw it was necessary to respect it. He saw what other people did for him and how protected he was, and what a fool he had always been. Ned began to understand. A clear intelligence dawned in his eyes. Slowly there came a glimmering of what can only be described as wisdom.

Hours and hours passed with Ned never averting his gaze from the Orb. He started to feel hungry and then he looked about. He saw that long vines clung to one side of the pit and they climbed all the way up. But he knew the dragon was still above.

Ned thought. He knew he could wait for the dragon to go and then climb up and run off keeping the Orb but that might take a very long time and he really was very hungry, and thirsty too.

He didn’t feel it was right to keep the Orb either. What had happened was really not the dragons fault. He had disturbed it and must have seemed like a potential thief.

Ned made a decision. He called up to the dragon.

”I am sorry I woke you up and I didn’t want to take the Orb, but only to look at it. I didn’t even know how precious it is. I am sure you can use this Orb far more wisely than I can. But now both I and this Orb are stuck down in the Abyss. Will you let me come up and bring you the Orb and then let me go? I give you my word that I have neither bad intentions nor a wish to rob you. I have seen much.’’

The dragon saw absolutely no risk in this as he could easily kill the Fool if he didn’t keep his word. He had no actually wish to kill anyone at all. He was a very peaceful and wise dragon. He agreed.

Ned climbed up. Once on his feet he placed the Orb on the ground beside the dragon and he bowed his head in respect. The dragon was very pleased.

”Go back to your world now,” said the dragon, ”and take with you all you have learned. I suspect you have some work in this world and I will watch your progress in my Orb. Know that a dragons blessing goes with you. Use it well.”

Ned returned to his village. People saw instantly that he was changed. Though he still had the pure, open heart of a fool he also had kindness and wisdom in his eyes as clear as day.

Ned still liked to wander and study nature but he helped his people too. When Ned needed to consult someone wiser he would return quietly to the cave and sit beside the dragon and sometimes the dragon just slept but sometimes he talked to Ned and Ned learned much from him.

In time stories about Ned spread and people came from miles away to speak to him and consult him on matters that were important to them. They would show respect and try to call him ‘Oh Wise One” and ‘Master” but he insisted on being called only Ned the Fool. Only a fool calls himself wise. The one who is wise knows he is still a fool.

It takes time spent in the abyss for a fool to become wise but a real fool stays there, whereas the wise fool sees the light and climbs out.’’