The Oracle and the Impious

A clever man climbed the steps of Apollo's temple with one hand behind his back.

He believed in the gods only when it suited him, and today he had come to play a trick on one of them. Inside his fist sat a small brown sparrow, and he could feel its heart going tap, tap, tap against his fingers.

"If the god says it is dead, I will open my hand and let it fly," he thought. "If the god says it is alive, I will squeeze it. Either way, Apollo will be wrong."

He stood before the shrine and put on his most humble face. "Great Apollo," he called, "tell me this. What I hold in my hand, is it alive or not?"

The temple was silent. The sparrow's heart went tap, tap, tap. Then a voice filled the great dark hall, and the man's knees turned to water.

"Dead or alive," said Apollo, "show me your bird, and set no more traps for me, or you will be sorry. I see far beyond your reach."