Once upon a time there was a king who was very very intelligent and wise. His name and fame spread throughout all kingdoms in the whole country, and people skilled in different arts used to flock to his court seeking rewards and recognition. A few of them came to test the king and to exhibit their own wisdom.
One day an artist came to the court. He had brought along three dolls made by himself. All three looked just the same. The artist asked the king, "King, please examine them well and tell us which of them is the best, which one is the worst."
The king took them in hand and examined them: The height, the weight, and features were the same; there was no difference. As the king was examining them, he found that one had a hole in each ear. As he put a small matchstick in the ear and moved the doll, the match stick came out of the other ear.
In other doll, the king found a hole in one of the ears and a hole in the mouth. When the matchstick was inserted in the hole of the ear, it came out from the hole in the mouth.
The third doll contained a hole only in one ear and nowhere else. When the stick was inserted in the ear, it went in and remained there.
The king deeply thought for some time and said, "Sir, you are a very clever artist. I am glad that you are teaching profound wisdom to the people through your art. These three dolls represent three types of friends. Everyone requires a true friend to help one in difficulties, to listen to one in sympathy, and to keep one's secrets.
The first doll represents the worst kind of friend: What he hears just goes out through the other ear; he is really not listening.
The second one is in the middle: he is tells everyone your secrets. The third one is the best: he listens to things very carefully, but keeps them to himself.
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