This is a story about a town called Chelm in pre-war Europe. It was run by a king who had little interest in what was happening in the town or its people, in fact, he didn't have much interest in anything other than himself and his palace. The people of the town had a pleasant life and were happy with their king who let them live as they pleased.
One day a poor merchant arrived in village and decided to stay, so bought himself a modest house in which to live. Some months later, in the middle of the night, a wicked person set fire to the house and it started to burn, along with everything in it. The man desperately ran into the street to seek help to put out the fire. His neighbours told him he must go and get help from the king to put the fire out. After all, the king was very powerful, and could easily call upon his personal fire service with all their equipment, to put out the blaze in minutes. Unfortunately, before the man could reach the king, the king was approached by the elders of the town, who heard about the fire and advised him to let the fire burn instead. Having little interest in the common folk, the king agreed as he trusted that the elders knew what the people wanted, and was happy to accommodate their wishes. So the fire burned.
Gradually, all the people of the town heard about the man's house that was on fire, and also heard about the elders who advised the king to let the fire burn. Even though some may have felt sorry for the man as his house was burning down, they didn't want to upset the elders. After all, they didn't know when they might need to rely the elders for themselves, or even speak to the king on their behalf if they needed. They told the poor man there was nothing they could do, as only the king controlled the fire service. So the fire burned.
As news about the fire spread to other towns, people felt bad for the man and were shocked that the king did not call upon his fire service, so they contacted the king themselves to ask them to help the poor man and put out his fire. But the king continued to listen to the elders of Chelm, as it was only they who knew what the people of Chelm really wanted. So the fire burned.
But the news of the fire continued to spread far and wide, and eventually other kings and governments from other countries asked the king to put out this poor man's fire. But the king continued to listen to the elders of Chelm, because it was only they who knew what the people of Chelm wanted. So the other governments and people from the other towns went to speak with the elders of Chelm to plead with them to tell the king to put out the fire. But the elders of Chelm said that they had not spoken to the king and were unable to do so. Only the king would be able to decide whether to put out the fire and they said they were powerless in telling the king what to do. So the fire burned.
Ordinary people from far and wide pleaded with the people of Chelm to tell their elders to speak to the king and put out the fire. But the people of Chelm didn't want to offend their elders, so they said that only the king could put out the fire so there was no point in speaking to the elders. So the fire burned.
As time went on, there was growing anger from all over the world towards the town of Chelm, their king, their elders and the people, because nothing was being done to put out the man's fire. The people of Chelm decided that they would tell the world how much they are helping the man in all different ways. Some people dedicated hours and days to pour gallons of water on all the other houses in Chelm, whilst other people would tell the man how sorry they were for his situation and that they were doing everything they could. So the fire burned.
The fire continues to burn because the king is listening to the elders, and the elders want the fire to burn. The elders loudly and falsely continue to claim that only the king can put out the fire and that they are powerless before the king. The people of Chelm are loyal to their elders but will say how sorry they are to hear about the fire, and explain how much water they have poured over everywhere else in Chelm to try to put out the fire.
The fire burns to this very day.