The Sculptor

                There was an old sculptor that lived on a mountain.  During the winter he would sculpt all manner of figurines and paint them.  In the spring he would ride into town and sell them in the market.  This was the way he earned a living for many years.
         One winter he decided to make a town.  First, he set out a white cloth over a table and built little houses.  Then he painted patches of grass and sculpted trees.  In the end he was very pleased with the town he had made, so he began to make the people.  Short and tall he made them.  Some were young and some were old.  Again, he was pleased with his work so he painted them and decided to fire the little clay people in his kiln. 
         Once they had cooled he positioned each figurine just right in the tiny village.  He smiled and yawned at the little people, and then he retreated to his bedroom.  Once the candle was blown out, he laid down to sleep. 
         It wasn't long, however, before he heard a racket in the other room.  He lay still in case it was a burglar, but then he realized the absurdity of the thought.  Who would come all the way up the mountain to burgle an old man's house?  He got up laughing and crept over to the door.  After straining to hear the small voices coming from the other side of the door, he saw a small trickle of light shine through the keyhole.  He peeked through.
         The little figurines had animated and ventured outside their miniscule village.  They had gathered around a candle and in the moonlight lit it.  Dancing around the flames they cheered and watched a select few perform daring feats before the flames.  As morning drew near and the sun rose, the candle was reduced to a puddle of wax.  The little people froze as the morning sunlight dawned upon them, and the old man sighed in amazement.
         After looking at the figurines he set out a fresh candle.  He then slept all day till he heard the racket once more and peeked at the people.  They had lit the candle once again and were merrily dancing around it.  The select few from the night before performed dangerous acts to entertain the crowd before the fire.
         The old man set out a fresh candle and watched the little people night after night for a week until, one night, a fight ensued.
         Two of the figurines had insisted that they saw the old man set out a new candle.
         "There is no old man!" cried the other figurines.
         "Then where does your fresh candle come from anew," said the two figurines.
         In their ignorance the other figurines supposed that the candle had gotten there by itself.  This angered the old man, and so, on the next day, he set out a new candle on a table across the room.  He lit the candle and waited for the figurines to awake from their slumber.
         When the figurines awoke they gazed at the candle across the room.  "What shall we do now?" they cried.  "We can no longer dance!"
         The two figurines from the night before were quick to give an answer: "We have angered the old man with our ignorance.  He has moved the candle as punishment for it."
         The other figurines grew angry at this and went after the two.  They took the two figurines and threw them over the edge of the table where they crashed to the floor and broke into pieces.  They scoffed at the two broken figurines and returned to their village.
         At this point the old man was angered so.  He threw open the door and stomped over to their little village.  He chopped up all the evil little figurines with his axe along with their village and said, "I regret ever making such evil little things."  He threw the pieces out of the window and went over to the two broken figurines on the floor.  He took those two figurines and repaired them so they looked like they were new.  "Because you were brave and didn't follow along, I won't throw you out the window like all the other pieces."

***note***can you guess what I was studying on my own outside of school when I wrote this?  Clue: it is a debate yet many are ignorant of it.