P. V. Ramaswami Raju

The Fool and His Fever

A fool was once suffering from severe fever. As he sat near the fire, he put the poker into it, and, after it was red hot, dipped it into a basin of water close by, and it was instantly cool. He rang for his servant, and ordering a tub full of cold water, went into it, and remained long enough to get rid of the heat in his body, as he thought.

The Fool and his Fever

When he came out, he was much worse. The doctor came and found him dying. The fool told him how he thought he would cool down like the poker, and how he treated himself accordingly.

"Alas!" said the doctor, "fools kill themselves by analogy!"