Long ago in a village there lived four scholars. Three of them were deeply learned in the ancient scriptures. The fourth had not studied as much — but he had a great deal of common sense.
One day all four decided — 'Let us go out into the world and earn our living through our learning.' They set out together. On the road through the forest, they came upon a pile on the ground. It was a heap of bones.
The first scholar said, 'These are the bones of a lion. I can reassemble them.' Using his knowledge of the scriptures, he joined the bones together into a complete skeleton.
The second scholar said, 'I can add flesh and skin to it.' He did exactly that. Now a full lion lay before them.
The third said, 'I can breathe life into it.' The fourth tried to stop him. 'Wait,' he said. 'Let me climb a tree first.' The other three laughed at him. 'What a coward! What is the point of all your learning?' But the fourth insisted — and climbed the tree.
The moment the third scholar breathed life into the lion, it stood up. It looked at the three scholars in front of it. It leaped. All three perished.
The fourth scholar sat in the tree and watched. When the lion finally walked away, he came down and began the journey home.
Book learning is a great thing — but seeing clearly what is right in front of you matters just as much. Knowledge joined with common sense is what is truly useful.