Roast or Stewed

Two brothers had been given bows and arrows as presents and promptly decided that they would go and hunt wild game. Coming to the bank of the river, their excitement knew no bounds when they saw a solitary wild duck flying sedately around.

The elder brother, stringing an arrow to his bow, exclaimed, “Now we shall have roast duck for dinner.”

“Oh, no,” said the younger brother. “Let us have it stewed with rice.”

The argument waxed long and strong, and in the end, the brothers agreed to go and ask their father how the bird should be cooked. Returning to the village, they put the burning question to their father.

“But where is the duck?” the father asked.

“We haven’t shot it yet,” replied the two boys in unison.

Father smiled broadly. “First of all, you must shoot the duck, then we will decide how to cook it.”

The two boys ran all the way back to the river, but by then, the duck had decided to go somewhere else.