325th story

One night, a father said to his son,

“My child, get up and go borrow our neighbour’s three-kilogram weight stone so we can grind some flour. I’ll give it to your mother so she can bake bread.”

As he was speaking, a cat suddenly walked into the house.

The boy looked at the cat and said confidently,

“I’ve lifted this cat ten times. It weighs exactly three kilograms.”

The father raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Then he tried again.

“Well then, go get a measurement from the neighbour’s house so I can see how much of the rug your mother has woven.”

Without missing a beat, the boy replied,

“I’ve measured the cat’s tail ten times. It’s exactly half a meter.”

Now the father was getting annoyed. He sighed and said,

“Fine. At least get up and see whether it’s raining outside.”

The boy quickly answered,

“This cat just came in from the yard. Touch it and see if it’s wet, then it’s raining.”

The father realized that every task he gave his son was cleverly avoided. The boy had an answer for everything and never actually moved from his spot.

Finally, the father said,

“All right then, get up and set the table so we can eat.”

The boy paused. He knew this was one task he couldn’t twist with his usual tricks. So he looked at his father and said,

“I’ve done everything else tonight. This one, you do it yourself.”