Wise Men of Gotham
© Virginia Marin
- Three wise men of Gotham
Went to sea in a bowl
If the bowl had been stronger
My story would have been longer.(Mother Goose)
Webster defines stupidity as lacking in normal intelligence or to be foolish, silly, dull and boring. If that definition fits the wise men of Gotham, Webster's definition is silly. For you see, some of the foolish remarks made by the men of Gotham actually do make sense, in a strange sort of way, though according to the natural laws of the universe they are foolish. And how can the Gothamites be wise and stupid simultaneously. That is the paradox of Gotham.
Gotham was a village in Nottinghamshire. It was a quaint, placid hamlet with happy people who loathed King John. Now, it became known that the King was going to build a hunting lodge in the village. If this transpired, the people of Gotham would be required to support the king's court. To foil this enterprise, the men of Gotham concocted a cunning plan. They would act as fools and idiots. Of course, the king wanted nothing to do with a town of miscreants and fools so he abandoned his plans for Gotham.
As events sometimes turn out, the people of Gotham found that playing the part of fools could be very beneficial, and as suns and moons passed, their play on words became so much a part of them, that it actually was them.
Probably the best known example of Gotham stupidity can be seen in the story of The Cuckoo Bush Tale.
It was well known that the Cuckoo was a herald of spring and held associations with the Otherworld. In an effort to harness eternal spring as well as a spiritual force, the Gothomites, upon finding a Cuckoo sitting in a bush, decided to build a fence around the bird to keep it in place.
The men finished the fence which was six feet high and stood back to admire their work. But suddenly the Cuckoo took wing and flew away.
The men were very sad and contemplative. Then one of their number said, "If only we had made the fence higher, she would not have escaped."
And this example from one of their local fools. One day a man was loading logs onto his donkey for transport to market. As he was attempting to straddle one of the logs, a passerby asked him why he did not sit on the donkey instead of a log. The man explained that the load was very heavy, and he had no intention of placing on the donkey's back any additional weight.
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