When ignorance prevails, the achievements of nations become a disaster. This happened in Afghanistan at the beginning of the last century. In 1901, Habibullah Khan became the king of a country isolated from the world, succeeding his father. He immediately set about bringing electricity to the palaces first, then to the houses, while cars began to travel the paved streets of Kabul for the first time, and cameras began to capture images of Afghans.
In 18 years, this enlightened king built a modern nation and established the first telegraph system connecting remote areas to the capital, Kabul, so that messages could be transmitted in minutes, instead of weeks. Among his other achievements was maintaining his country’s neutrality during World War I.
His people loved him and foreign powers respected him. Nevertheless, this did not sit well with the tribal leaders who feared change, and his relatives felt threatened by his reforms. The king’s brother, Nasrullah, and his son, Amanullah, were plotting in the shadows, preferring the isolation of the country over its progress.
In February 1919, while on a hunting trip near Jalalabad, unknown snipers lay hidden among the trees. Suddenly, a gunshot shattered the morning silence and the king fell dead.
The bear that became a rabbit
A story from Czech literature In a certain forest, the vacancy for a ‘Tunneling Rabbit’ was announced. The only applicant was an unemployed bear. He was accepted and officially appointed. After some time, the bear noticed that another rabbit in the forest was appointed as ‘Bear Opener’, receiving much higher salary, privileges and bonuses. The bear complained to the department head, and the complaint was forwarded to the general administration. A committee of leopards was formed to investigate the complaint, and both the bear and the rabbit were summoned to the hearing. The committee asked the rabbit to present his papers and identification documents. All the documents confirmed that the rabbit was a bear. The committee then asked the bear to present his papers and identification documents, and all the documents confirmed that the bear was a rabbit. The committee decided not to make any changes, because the rabbit was a bear, and the bear was a rabbit by all accounts and evidence. The bear neither appealed nor objected to the decision of the committee. When the bear was asked why he did not object to the decision, he replied: How can I object to the decision of the Leopard Committee, which is actually a group of donkeys, even though their documents say they are leopards?
The devil did nothing but to move the peg
The devil passed through a quiet village and stopped to rest for a while, leaning against a tree trunk. He observed the village and saw a woman milking a cow, her calf tied to a stake nearby. He watched for a while, and then said to himself, “Let me cause some trouble for fun.” He got up, and when he reached the calf, he moved the peg. The calf, frightened, ran to its mother to nurse, causing the bucket to fall and the milk to spill onto the ground. The woman, angered by the loss of her livelihood, grabbed a stick and hit the calf violently, knocking it to the ground. When the cow saw her calf in this condition, she kicked the woman hard, killing her instantly.
The woman’s father-in-law was passing by and saw his daughter-in-law lying dead on the ground. He grabbed his rifle and shot the cow. The husband heard the gunshot and rushed to the scene. He found his wife dead and his father standing over her. Without asking, he pulled his pistol and killed his father.
When the husband heard the story from the neighbors who witnessed what happened, he could not bear the tragedy and shot himself. As for the devil, who had been observing the events from afar, he said mockingly, “They will hold me accountable for everything they did, even though I did nothing but to move the peg.”
