The Stupid Farmer of Shen

Long long ago, in the Province of Shen, there was a farmer. He was not only lazy but stupid. One day, while ploughing his fields, he saw two rabbits playing together. As he watched, one of them fell and hit its head against a tree.

The farmer picked it up. It had broken its neck and was already dead. The farmer was pleased at his good luck. He decided to stop work for the day and take it home to eat.

When he reached home, his wife asked him why he had come back so early.
"Why should I work so hard?" he asked her. "I know how to get food every day without working for it."

His wife said nothing more. She cooked the rabbit and they ate it for dinner.

The next morning, the farmer left his house very early. His wife was very pleased. She thought he was going to work as usual. When the farmer reached his farm, he sat down under the tree where he had picked up the rabbit the previous day.

Although he waited all day. He did not even see another rabbit. He did the same thing the next day and every day after that. When his neighbours heard of it, they laughed. "If he waits all his life." They said, "he will never catch a rabbit again like that!"