The Shepherd Boy
There was once upon a time a shepherd boy whose
fame spread far and wide because of the wise answers which he gave to every question. The
king of the country heard of it likewise, but did not believe it, and sent for the boy.
Then he said to him, if you can give me an answer to three questions which I will ask you,
I will look on you as my own child, and you shall dwell with me in my royal palace. The
boy said, what are the three questions. The king said, the first is, how many drops of
water are there in the ocean. The shepherd boy answered, lord king, if you will have all
the rivers on earth dammed up so that not a single drop runs from them into the sea until
I have counted it, I will tell you how many drops there are in the sea. The king said, the
next question is, how many stars are there in the sky. The shepherd boy said, give me a
great sheet of white paper, and then he made so many fine points on it with a pen that
they could scarcely be seen, and it was all but impossible to count them, any one who
looked at them would have lost his sight. Then he said, there are as many stars in the sky
as there are points on the paper. Just count them. But no one was able to do it. The king
said, the third question is, how many seconds of time are there in eternity. Then said the
shepherd boy, in lower pomerania is the diamond mountain, which is two miles high, two
miles wide, and two miles deep. Every hundred years a little bird comes and sharpens its
beak on it, and when the whole mountain is worn away by this, then the first second of
eternity will be over. The king said, you have answered the three questions like a wise
man, and shall henceforth dwell with me in my royal palace, and I will regard you as my
own child.
--The End-- |
