In a curious little nook of the world, where the sunbeams danced and the shadows played, a question flitted through the air like a butterfly: “Is that a paper plane? Is that a pencil? Is it an eraser, perhaps?” But lo! A voice rang out, clear and bright, “Nay, my friends. That’s Elementary Man!”
 

The Village Council Meeting
Somewhere on the plains, in a small ignored village, a village council met. The sun shone bright, but the mood was dim. The rich, powerful women wanted a school. A school for all, from K1 to Grade 12. They wanted girls to learn without traveling far.

 

“Let’s build a school!” Brigid, the richest and most powerful woman said, her voice strong. “Yes,” the other rich women joined in.

The council members looked at each other. They did not want to spend money on any project that would make it much easier for the children especially the girl children to become educated and skilled.

“Of course. We will consider it. We have some urgent work to attend to, so we’ll continue this meeting tomorrow morning after breakfast.”
So, the council members met later in the evening and hatched a plan.

“Let’s create the ‘Thousand Flowers’ system!” said the head of the council, Mr. Bluster. “We’ll gather advice, thousands of pieces of advice and ensure that the advice from these women gets lost somewhere in the ‘Thousand Flowers’ register!”

The next morning, the council members happily sat across the rest of the villagers.

“We’ve created a system to ensure that any advice is recorded, and a budget is allocated to it.”

The women frowned. “But what about the school?”

“Ah, yes! It will go in the register,” Mr. Bluster said with a sly grin.

Everyone cheered but the group of women were suspicious.

The Delay

Over a year passed, and no school was made in the village.

“Something is amiss” Ciara, one of the women said. “But I know the right person to fix this problem”

And so Elementary Man arrived in the village, carrying a large knapsack and a big smile.

“Elementary Man at your service!” he declared.

The women explained the problem. “The council is stopping our school project from coming to fruition! They say the school project in the Thousand Flowers’ register but yet it’s not being built”

Elementary Man scratched his chin. “Let’s see this ‘Thousand Flowers’ register!”

They went to the council’s office that morning itself but were told that the register was missing. But Elementary Man had prepared for this in advance. He had taken someone in the office in confidence.

Lost in the Dust
A masked man secretly delivered the register to the village inn where Brigid, Ciara and Elementary Man were waiting with bated breath., The register was thick and dusty. Elementary Man flipped through the pages. “What’s this? A plan for flying bicycles? And here, a machine to make rainbows? He continued to flip through the register. “Maybe your idea is recorded in this register but by the time, it will be found and discussed and sponsored, it will be too late.”

The women sighed. “Our school idea is lost in this crowd of ideas!”

“I can arrange for land and money for the school so that we don’t have to depend on the council.” Brigid assured everyone

“I too can help in building the school but we must expose this horrible system so that this farce is not repeated in case of future urgent requests.”

Elementary Man had a plan. “We’ll call and send messages and gather the villagers for tomorrow’s meeting! We’ll show them the importance of the school!”

 

The Ambush
Elementary Man took the register and retired to his tent on the outskirts of the village to prepare for tomorrow’s gathering. Meanwhile, a group of council members followed him and planned a sinister ambush.  They waited till the lights were switched off in the tent. But when they barged into it, they found it empty. The ambushers were confused. “Where did he go?” they whispered among each other.

 

The Big Reveal
The next day, the council and the group of women looked around for Elementary Man. The women gasped. “He’s missing!”

But Elementary Man was clever. He returned just in time. “I heard you were planning a surprise party!” he joked, making everyone laugh.

The villagers gathered. Elementary Man stood tall. “Listen, everyone! This ‘Thousand Flowers’ is an atrocity in the shape of a blessing! Look at this register here. It is filled with outlandish proposals. We should focus on the important proposal of the school that is bound to help everyone. It will make the children get their education and skills in the village itself.”

The crowd agreed. “We want a school!” they shouted.

Mr. Bluster tried to speak, but the villagers were loud. “We want our children to have their own school!”

Finally, the council had no choice. They agreed to build the school. The women cheered, and Elementary Man smiled.

“That was brave, man!” Ciara said.

“Nay, my friend. That’s Elementary Man!” he replied with a smile.

Moral:
The “Thousand Flowers Fallacy” teaches us that when too many ideas are gathered, the important ones can get lost in the noise. Just like in the village, when the council filled the register with silly and unrealistic suggestions, they overshadowed the valuable idea of building a school. It reminds us to focus on what truly matters and not let distractions drown out the voices that need to be heard.

 

If you enjoyed this post, then you might like at least one short story in our collection!

That’s Elementary Man! Episode 10 – The Marvelous Misfits

That’s Elementary Man! Episode 16 – Blood Will Out