Fools of Chelm

Poor and half-starving, victims of numerous scarcities, the people of Chelm were nonetheless content until Gronam Ox, the first Sage of Chelm, was touched by "civilization" and helped them see that a crisis existed in their town. All the ills of civilization then beset Chelm: a lost war, revolution, an empty treasury. And in each case Gronam Ox and his felloe sages, believing themselves the wisest men in the world, proceeded to make matters worse. What else could one expect of Shmendrick Numskull, Berel Pinhead, Shmerel Thickwit, and the inevitable Shlemiel, secretary to the Council of Sages? Full of humour and universal truths, The Fools of Chelm and Their History is Singer storytelling at its best.