A Clever Notion

Long, long ago, there lived a blacksmith who was renowned for his craft all throughout the country.

Summoned to the Royal Court

One day, the King’s royal guards visited his smithy and ordered him to accompany them to the royal court. The King had expressed a desire to meet him. The blacksmith was ushered before the King, who told him that he heard of his remarkable craftsmanship. He then presented the blacksmith with bits of iron, ordering him to fashion a man out of them. This iron man was expected to talk and behave like a human, and he gave the blacksmith a month’s time to accomplish this. Failure to carry out the command would result in the forfeiture of his life.

The Impossible Task

The blacksmith returned home with the bits of iron, plunged into the deepest gloom. He didn’t know how to create a talking, walking iron man. He could potentially construct an iron figure, but making it talk and walk like an ordinary human was far beyond his skills. Soon, news of his predicament spread across the country, eliciting empathy for the hapless blacksmith.

Escape and the Mad Man

The blacksmith felt as if he was going mad and desired to flee the country. This led him to wander in a nearby forest, where he stumbled upon a mad man donned in flowers and twigs. The mad man, recognizing the blacksmith, invited him for a conversation. The blacksmith, hungry and bewildered, followed the mad man to a tree and shared the fruits he was offered. He then narrated the King’s odd command to the mad man.

A Way Out

The mad man laughed at the King’s command, and, to the blacksmith’s surprise, offered a solution. According to him, to make an iron man of that sort, one would need only the top knot of men’s hair and jars of tears. Seizing the opportunity, the blacksmith returned to the royal court and presented the mad man’s absurd requirements to the King. The King ordered his Minister to fetch whatever the blacksmith needed but was eventually informed that procuring such large quantities of human hair and tears was an impossible task.

A Clever Notion Saves the Day

The King, faced with this realization, relieved the blacksmith of his task. The skillful blacksmith was free from his impending danger, thanks to the random words of a mad man which gave him a clever notion to counter the King’s impossible command and ultimately save his own life.