Judgement in a Hurry

A famous philosopher was leading his disciples through a forest. At one point, they noticed that several trees had been felled, while one solitary tree remained standing among the others.

“Why have you spared this tree?” the philosopher asked the woodcutter.

“This is a useless tree,” he replied.

The philosopher looked at his disciples. “Do you see the irony of life? One who is useless lives longer,” he observed.

The disciples nodded in appreciation of their master’s wisdom. However, the woodcutter laughed, and the philosopher sensed that his laughter ridiculed him. He was somewhat surprised.

It was a hot noon, and the woodcutter offered them rest and food in his hut. They accepted the offer gratefully. As they rested, the woodcutter asked his son to kill one of their geese for the sake of their guests.

“Which one should we kill? The one laying eggs or the useless one?” asked the son.

“What does your common sense say?” replied the father.

“We should kill the useless one,” said the son.

The woodcutter laughed once more. The philosopher, in silence, realized that the statement he had made in a hurry might have sounded profound, but the facts were far more complicated than he had anticipated!