Once upon a time, a lot of folks were thirsty.
Part I
Thirst Quencher Is Made of Pine Cones and Water
One day, a thirsty traveler came upon an old well. Although he had never seen a well before, he lowered the bucket creaking down over a rusty wheel and hauled up the bucket full with 2 parts pine cones and 3 parts water. He put some of the pine cones mixed with water into his mouth. The pine cones were crunchy. They hurt the roof of his mouth and made him bleed, but this water and pine cone mixture quenched his thirst, and that was all that mattered to him. He carried his pine cone and water concoction home with him and shared it with everyone in his village. Their thirst was quenched. The greatest minds in the village studied the stuff, and determined that something very much like it could be made from rain that fell from the sky, and pine cones that fell from trees in the forest. Although the villagers' eyes watered and their mouths bled from the pain of the pine cones, they were grateful beyond words for the thirst quencher, and they shared this beloved recipe generation after generation in their village.
Part II
Thirst Quencher Is Made of Dirt and Water
On another day, a thirsty traveler from another village came upon the same old well. He sent the bucket down into the well and pulled up a bucket full with 3 parts water and 1 part dirt. He put some of the dirt mixed with water into his mouth. The dirt sat in his gut like, um... dirt, but this water and dirt mixture quenched his thirst, and that was all that mattered to him. He carried his dirt and water concoction home with him and shared it with everyone in his village. Their thirst was quenched. The greatest minds in the village studied the stuff, and determined that something very much like it could be made by scooping water out of a nearby river, and mixing it with some of the ample dirt that was lying around everywhere. Although the villagers were constipated and they hated the taste of dirt, they were grateful beyond words for the thirst quencher, and they shared this beloved recipe generation after generation in their village.
Part III
Thirst Quencher Is Made of Tattered Cloth and Water
On another day, a thirsty traveler from a third village came upon the same old well as the first two travelers. He sent the bucket down into the well and pulled up 5 parts water and 1 part tattered cloth. He put some of the tattered cloth mixed with water into his mouth. The tattered cloth made him wretch, but it was not impossible to swallow it down. The cloth and water mixture quenched his thirst, and that was all that mattered to him. He carried his cloth and water concoction home with him and shared it with everyone in his village. Their thirst was quenched. The greatest minds in the village studied the stuff, and determined that something very much like it could be made from water that collected in a pool near the village if they would only soak some of their tattered old clothes in it for a very long time. Although it was hard to swallow, the villagers were grateful beyond words for the thirst quencher, and they shared this beloved recipe generation after generation in their village.
Part IV
The Fourth Traveler
On another day, a thirsty traveler from a fourth village came upon the same well. He sent the bucket down into the well and pulled up 2 parts water, 1 part old tattered cloth, 1 part dirt, and a few pine cones. Because this traveler came from a village that had a spring where clear, fresh water that was good to drink burbled constantly up from deep in the ground, he picked the pine cones from the top of the water and threw them away. He pulled a piece of cloth from the bucket and used it as a strainer. Then, he poured the water and dirt mixture through the cloth strainer, and drank the pure water.
The Well's Story
Thousands of years earlier, a lot of folks were thirsty.
One day, a traveler from a village that had a spring where clear, fresh water that was good to drink burbled constantly up from deep in the ground came to a village where there was no spring, and everyone was thirsty. He reasoned that water came from deep in the ground, and encouraged the villagers to dig with him. That was how the well came to be.
For many generations, people from the village got water from that well. Over time, the people who remembered the story of the stranger who taught them how to dig down into the earth for water died off, and generation after generation of people knew that water came from wells. One day a traveler from the village with the well came to a village where people were thirsty. He told the villagers about the well, and they were amazed. A few strong men made the journey to the well and carried water back to their village. Word of the well spread from village to village and for many generations people from far, distant villages traveled, sometimes perilously, to pull precious water from the well.
Time passed. Things changed. Villages crumbled, and the knowledge of where the well was was lost. The knowledge of what a well was was lost. One day, a thirsty traveler mistook the well for a garbage dump. He had some clothes he couldn't carry any further, so weary and thirsty was he, and he threw them into the well. Over time, dirt crumbled from the old well's walls and was mixed with the water. Strong winds occasionally blew pine cones from the forest into the well. Then, one day, after decades without use, a thirsty traveler happened by. He sent the bucket down into the well, and pulled up water mixed with pine cones...
