Visiting the Master

One day, a leopard and a cat were discussing time. The cat said time was an illusion, while the leopard insisted that it did indeed exist.

The two felines could not agree, so they decided to seek out the wise master who lived in a nearby cavern.

“Oh, wise one, we have come to seek an answer to the question of time. My friend here and I disagree about the existence of time,” said the leopard.

“What say you, cat,” asked the master.

“Time is a fool’s errand, for while you are awake, it passes you by like a tortoise, yet when your eyes close for a nap, it speeds past like a racing hare. How can it be the same,” said the cat.

And you leopard,” asked the snake.

“I feel time depends on whether you are happy or sad. When I am happy, time flies, but when I am sad, it drags on,” replied the leopard.

The master entered his cave, brought out an hourglass, then set the sand running. The three watched as the sand fell from one sphere to the next.

“Would you say that time does flow, having seen it yourself in the hourglass,” asked the master.

“Yes, I must admit it seems that way,” said the cat.

The leopard agreed with the cat, thanked the master for his time, and left. On the way home, the leopard leaned over and whispered to the cat, “The next time we wish to waste an hour, let’s do it eating fish at the river.”

“Wise words indeed,” said the cat.

The moral of this story: A wise man may know many things, but even a fool has enough wits regarding common sense.