The fable of the blind men and the elephant is what you are looking for. To the blind man touching the trunk, an elephant seems to be a kind of snake. To the one touching the tail, it seems like a rope. The fable or parable is described on Wikipedia at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant][1].


  [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant