In English
The next enquiry was whether the boatman could read a newspaper. When the boatman confessed his illiteracy, the proud mockingly told him that half of his life was lost in the river. The scholar then asked the boatman if he could sing a song. Upon giving the answer in the negative for the third time, the simple boatman was derogatorily told that three-fourths of his precious life was sunk in the river, as it were. After some time, the sky was overcast with dark clouds and a terrific wind began to blow. A fierce storm having broken out, the boat was being tossed hither and thither by the swirling waters of the river. The boatman then asked the proud , “Sir, can you swim? If you can’t, the whole of your life has been wasted.” The hapless could not swim. All his pedantry and scholarship failed to come to his rescue at this hour of need and he was swept away by the current. The unlettered boatman who could swim like a fish crossed the river and reached the other bank safely.