The Brahmans, confounded at this answer, turned back in silence.  But all of them had deeply at heart the distinction of the salutation of the soldier, and the dispute was gradually renewed.  Even the awkward decision of the warrior could not prevent each of them from arrogating to himself the pre-eminence of being noticed by him, to the exclusion of the others.  The contention, therefore, now became, which of the four was the stupidest; and strange to say, it grew as warm as ever, and must have come to blows, had not the person who gave the former advice, to follow the soldier, interposed again with his wisdom, and spoken as follows:  “I think myself the greatest fool of us all.  Each of you thinks the same thing of himself.  And after a fight, shall we be a bit nearer the decision of the question?  Let us, therefore, have a little patience.  We are within a short distance of Dharmapuri, where there is a choultry, at which all little causes are tried by the heads of the village; and let ours be judged among the rest.”

The others agreed in the soundness of this advice; and having arrived at the village, they eagerly entered the choultry, to have their business settled by the arbitrator.  They could not have come at a better season.  The chiefs of the district, Brahmans and others, had already met in the choultry; and no other cause being brought forward, they proceeded immediately to that of the four Brahmans, who advanced into the middle of the court, and stated that a sharp contest having arisen among them, they were come to have it decided with fairness and impartiality.  The court desired them to proceed and explain the ground of their controversy.  Upon this, one of them stood forward and related to the assembly all that had happened, from their meeting with the soldier to the present state of the quarrel, which rested on the superior degree of stupidity of one of their number.  The detail created a general shout of laughter.  The president, who was of a gay disposition, was delighted beyond measure to have fallen in with so diverting an incident.  But he put on a grave face, and laid it down, as the peculiarity of the cause, that it could not be determined on the testimony of witnesses, and that, in fact, there was no other way of satisfying the minds of the judges than by each, in his turn, relating some particular occurrence of his life, on which he could best establish his claim to superior folly.  He clearly showed that there could be no other means of determining to which of them the salutation of the soldier could with justice be awarded.  The Brahmans assented, and upon a sign being made to one of them to begin, and the rest to keep silence, the first thus spoke: 

Story of the First Brahman.