Wisdom story: A wise elderly man and two travelers​

There once lived a wise elderly man in a village near the mountains. He had worked hard on his farm all his life and now he was content to hand over most of the work to his children and the younger ones in his village. His days were now pleasant and leisurely. Most of all, he liked to climb up the mountainside behind his village and sit on a bench there, smoking his pipe, dozing from time to time, but also contemplating about the village, the fields, the people, and the animals in the village. One sunny summer’s day, as he sat there smoking his pipe, he heard footsteps approaching along the mountain path which passed by his bench. It was a young man with a heavy backpack on his back. He walked up to the wise elderly man and asked him if he could rest for a while in this spot as it had the perfect shade and view over the village below. “No, of course not, make yourself comfortable,” replied the elderly man. It was a hot day and the young man was clearly tired because it took him a while to catch his breath. After a few minutes, he turned to the elderly man and asked him, pointing down to the village below, “Is that your village down there?” “Yes,” said the elderly man. “Why do you ask?” “I was wondering what the people are like there,” the young man said.

The wise elderly man thought for a while, pulled out his pipe, and then answered with another question…