A certain man named, Arya, who was the proud owner of a boat, invited the village teacher for an excursion on the Caspian Sea.
The teacher lolled about under the canopy and asked Arya, "What kind of weather will we have today?"
Arya checked the direction of the wind, looked up at the sun, wrinkled his brow, and answered, "If you ask me, we is going to have a storm."
Horrified by this reply, the teacher made a face and said critically, "Arya, you should not say 'we is' but say 'we are'. Didn't you ever learn grammar?"
Arya responded to this reprimand with nothing but a shrug of his shoulders. "What do I care about grammar?" he asked.
The teacher was at his wits' end. "You don't know grammar. That means half your life is down the drain!"

Just as Arya had predicted, dark clouds developed on the horizon, a strong wind whipped the waves, and the boat tossed about in the rough sea. In no time there was a lot of water in the boat and Arya asked the teacher, "Have you ever learned to swim?"
The teacher answered, "No. Why should I learn to swim?"
Grinning from ear to ear, Arya replied, "Well, in that case your whole life is down the drain, because our boat is going to sink any minute now!"

Reprinted with permission from http://www.zensufi.com/story.htm. Story originally narrated by the poet Sadi, found in "Sadi: The Rose Garden", and adapted in http://www.zensufi.com/story.htm. For further information, please contact zs@zensufi.com.

Q: In the story, the teacher had put all importance on book learning, and thought less of Arya because of his poor grammar. The boat owner was not highly educated, but did know how to swim, unlike the teacher. Which skill was more useful in the circumstances? Do you sometimes underestimate the importance of basic life skills, in comparison with book learning? Do you have any prejudices about what are useful skills and knowledge?

O, Master!
Thou art the real goal of human life.
We are yet but slaves of wishes
Putting bar to our advancement,
Thou art the only God and power
To bring us up to that stage.