The son of a Chinese peasant reached adulthood and his father, wanting him to learn a craft, apprenticed him to a local amber merchant.
On the first day, the merchant gave the boy a piece of amber and said:
- Take it and go sweep the yard.
At the end of the day, the boy returned the amber to the teacher and went to bed. On the second day the instructions were the same, and this continued throughout the month.
In the second month, in the mornings the merchant gave the boy the amber and sent him to wash the dishes, demanding that the stone be returned in the evening. Throughout the year, he sent the boy shopping, ordered him to mow the lawn, paint the fence, and sent him on various errands to the city.
A year has passed, and the boy is fed up. He came to his teacher and said:
- I'm tired of this apprenticeship. I learned nothing, I worked like an ox and got nothing in return. I'm leaving!
“Okay,” said the teacher. - You are free.
“You know what,” said the student, “I want you to pay me for a year of hard work!”
“Of course,” answered the teacher. - Take this amber, sell it at the market and keep the money for yourself.
The boy looked at the amber and said:
- Yes, this is a fake!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru