An old hermit walked around the village day and night, carrying a lantern with him.  Even in the brightest of days, when the hot Sun beat down upon his back, he kept the lantern lit, keeping his eyes peeled, looking for something which he may never find.

Everyone knows the Hermit.  They see him, with his ragged cloak and torn sandals, walking stick in one hand and lantern in the other.  But the Hermit knows no one in the village – his companions are his lantern and the dogs which follow him on his rounds, always hoping for scraps of food which he may drop.

The Hermit doesn’t drop a lot of food, because he carries so little of it on him.

One day, the Hermit came across two young men at their sport.  The Hermit, carrying his lantern, approached them and asked: What is friendship?  And the taller one replied: friendship is an equal, reciprocal love which exists between two people.  The Hermit said then: Very good, and posed the same question to the shorter of the two men.  The taller one interjected, saying, We have already told You what You asked, so begone!  And the shorter friend looked relieved.  The Hermit picked up his lantern and left, saying: why did You not tell me what You meant by friendship?  Now You are in Your friend’s debt, because he spoke up for You.  You are not friends anymore.

Then, the Hermit went to see the village chief, the richest man in town, probably because he paid himself with taxes and a royalty he received from the city.  And the Hermit asked: Is serving the village more important or serving Yourself more important?  And the village chief replied: of course serving the village is more important.  The Hermit replied: Yet You do not see the poor, and decide to surroud Yourself with bodyguards, the police, and Your riches.  Pray tell, why do You do that, if You put the village before Yourself?  Picking up his lantern, he left.

Then the Hermit came across a man who said that the true philosopher should be one who remains silent in the face of adversity.  Agreeing, the Hermit proceeded to insult the man by calling his mother a harlot, himself a good-for-nothing, and his friends for drunks and vagrants.  All these, however, were met by silence.  Then the man said: do You believe now that I am a philosopher?  And the Hermit replied: You would have remained one, had You kept Your mouth shut.  And he went on his way.

Sometimes, the Hermit sees his reflection in a mirror or in a pool of cool, still water.  The Hermit puts down his lantern, looks, then picks up his lantern and walks on.

One day, the village fool asked the Hermit: Why do You carry a lantern with You all day?  And the Hermit replied: I am searching for an honest man.