An Optical Illusion

An Optical Illusion

Semyon Semyonovich, having put on his glasses, looks at a pine tree and sees that a peasant is sitting in the pine tree and shaking his fist at him.
Semyon Semyonovich, having taken off his glasses, looks at the pine tree and sees that nobody is sitting in the pine tree.
Semyon Semyonovich, having put on his glasses, looks at the pine tree and again sees that a peasant is sitting in the pine tree and shaking his fist at him.
Semyon Semyonovich, having taken off his glasses, again sees that nobody is sitting in the pine tree.
Semyon Semyonovich, having put on his glasses again, looks at the pine tree again, sees that a peasant is sitting in the pine tree and is shaking his fist at him.
Semyon Semyonovich doesn’t want to believe in this phenomenon and decides it is an optical illusion.

--Daniel Kharms (1905-1942), from the Man in the Black Coat; Russia's literature of the absurd