The master and apprentice were walking
through the hills when they came upon a river.
It had been raining for several days.
The apprentice stopped beside the bank.
The apprentice said,
The river is high.
The master waited.
The apprentice said,
The water is moving quickly.
The master waited.
The apprentice said,
There are branches caught against the bridge.
Still the master said nothing.
The apprentice looked upstream.
The apprentice said,
The rain is continuing.
A wooden cart appeared on the road beyond them,
making its way toward the bridge.
The master said,
What do you see?
The apprentice frowned and then said,
I have just told you.
The master said,
You have told me many things.
The apprentice looked again.
The river pressed hard against the bridge supports.
One of the timbers shifted.
The cart continued toward them.
The apprentice said,
The bridge may fail.
The master said,
Has it failed?
The apprentice said,
No.
The master said,
Then what are you looking at?
The apprentice watched the timber bend beneath the water.
The apprentice said,
What this may become.
The master said,
Before the cart crosses?
The apprentice looked at the approaching traveler.
The apprentice said,
Perhaps.
The master said,
And if you wait until you know?
The apprentice stepped into the road and raised his arms.
The cart stopped.
The master said,
Why did you do that?
The apprentice said,
The river is rising.
The bridge is weakening.
The rain is continuing.
The traveler is about to cross.
The master said,
You knew all of those things before.
The apprentice looked back at the bridge.
The apprentice said,
Yes.
The master said,
What changed?
The apprentice thought for a moment.
The apprentice said,
They became one thing.
The master nodded.
The master said,
A situation.
A loud crack came from the bridge.
One of its supports gave way
and the center span dropped into the river.
The traveler climbed down from the cart
and stared at the water.
The apprentice said,
I recognized the situation.
The master began walking back up the hill.
The master said,
Which situation?
The apprentice looked confused.
The apprentice said,
The dangerous bridge.
The master said,
For whom?
The apprentice looked at the stranded traveler.
The apprentice said,
For him, the road is closed.
He looked toward the fields downstream.
The apprentice said,
For the farmer, the river may flood.
He watched the broken timber disappear into the current.
The apprentice said,
For anyone downstream,
there may now be debris.
The master said,
And for us?
The apprentice looked at the road behind them.
The apprentice said,
We need another way home.
The master smiled and continued walking.
After a while the apprentice caught up with him.
The apprentice said,
So the world did not contain one situation.
The master said,
The world contained the river,
the bridge, the rain, the cart, and us.
The apprentice said,
And the situation?
The master looked back toward the crossing.
The master said,
That depended on who was asking what to do next.