The Cook
A wealthy man had a cook whose food he loved. One day, she announced that she was leaving. Alarmed at the prospect of going without her food, the man began to plead with her to stay. "How about I double your salary?" "No." "I'll give you your own servant." "No." "I'll let you bring your friends over here." "No," the woman replied. "I'm leaving. Nothing's going to change my mind. I'll head out tomorrow morning."
The next day, just as she was about to leave, the man, now in great desperation, asked her to marry him. She said yes, and the man was greatly relieved. But a week after the wedding, when he asked her to make his favorite dish, she responded, "What? A lady in my position doesn't cook. If you want food, hire a chef."
Upon hearing this, the man had a breakdown and left his home, never to be seen again by anyone in his village.
The Tree's Shade
One day, a wealthy man noticed a young merchant resting outside, and immediately demanded that he move. "But I'm just sitting outside on public ground," replied the other. "Why should I move?"
"You're sitting in my tree's shade," was the response. "I cared after my tree for many years. You don't have the right to use its shade."
"Fine," said the merchant, "I'll buy the rights from you. How much do you want?"
Eager to make money on such a unique type of transaction, the man said, "A hundred dollars."
The merchant agreed and paid the man, and they signed a contract that transferred possession of the tree's shade.
The merchant, however, soon began taking full advantage of his new asset--and since the tree's shade moved during the day, he followed it as it went to the wealthy man's yard, and even brought his friend's with him.
The wealthy man was greatly annoyed, but didn't speak up. Then one day, the merchant and his friends followed the shade right into the wealthy man's home! Infuriated, the man tried to kick them out. The merchant immediately presented his ownership papers and responded, "This is my shade. I'm on my property."
Enraged even further, the wealthy man took the merchant to court. However, the court honored the contract, and ruled that the merchant wasn't in the wrong.
The merchant continued using the shade as before, and after a few more days, the offered to buy it back. "I'll pay you two hundred dollars," he said. "Double the price you paid for it. How does that sound?"
The merchant refused. And the next day, he again brought his friends into a part of the man's house under the tree's shade. Greatly frustrated, the wealthy man said, "OK. I'll give you three hundred dollars."
"No," was the response.
"Name your price."
The merchant demanded five thousand dollars, and the wealthy man had no choice but to pay him.
Heaven and Hell
One day, an angel came up to a man and said, "Good man, today I will grant you a wish. I know that you love traveling--and so, I will take you to any two places you want."
The man, eager to see somewhere truly unique, said, "I want to see Heaven and Hell."
The angel then showed the man Hell. The man looked, and saw rows of people seated near a large table of food. But everyone had meter long chopsticks, and the people, unable to feed themselves, looked emaciated and starving.
Then the angel took the man to heaven. The man was surprised to see a very similar scene, with people seated near a table packed with food, and holding meter long chopsticks. This time, however, the people looked healthy and robust, and used their own chopsticks to feed their neighbors on the other side of the table.
Cloth Dispute
Two men were arguing over a piece of cloth, each claiming they owned it. The Mayor noticed this and asked them about it. After hearing their sides of the story, he told his assistants to cut the cloth in half, and distribute it equally among the men. Then after each man left with his share, the Mayor ordered his assistants to follow them. The assistants later came back and told the Mayor that one man was joyous, while the other man was upset. This prompted the Mayor to arrest the joyous man and put him on trial. The man eventually admitted that the cloth was not his.