A man who lost his axe suspected his neighbour's son of stealing it. To him, as he observed the boy, the way the lad walked, the expression on his face, the manner of his speech - in fact everything about his appearance and behaviour betrayed that he had stolen the axe.
Not long afterwards the man found his axe while digging in his cellar. When he saw his neighbour's son again, nothing about the boy's behaviour nor appearance seemed to suggest that he had stolen the axe.
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Huang Fu and the Bottle of Wine Parable
Huang Fu was a very rich man who was deliberately tough on his farmhand, Hop. Huang Fu gave Hop a bottle and said, 'Buy me a bottle of wine.'
Hop, the poor farmhand enquired, 'How can I buy you wine with no money at all?'
Huang Fu replied disdainfully, 'Anyone can buy wine with money. It takes real skill to buy wine without money.'
Time elapsed and Hop eventually returned farmhand returned with the empty bottle. He handed the bottle to Huang Fu and murmured, 'Enjoy the wine, please.'
Staring at the empty bottle with some dismay, Huang asked, 'There is no wine, how can I enjoy this?'
Hop replied to Huang Fu, with a straight face, 'Anyone can enjoy wine if there is some. It takes real skill to enjoy wine when there is none.'
Huang Fu made a choking sound but was unable to utter a word.
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