Hanzi

Long, long ago, in a mountain village, there lived a wealthy landlord. He was very rich, but naturally foolish, constantly doing silly things, and was often ridiculed by the villagers.

One day, the foolish landlord visited a rich man in a neighboring village. He saw a newly built three-story house that was spacious, bright, tall, and magnificent. He felt very envious, thinking: 'I am also rich, and no less than him. He has such a building, but I don't. How can that be?'

As soon as he returned home, he immediately sent for the craftsmen and asked, 'Do you know who built that new building in the neighboring village?' The craftsmen replied, 'Yes, we are the ones who built it.' The foolish landlord was overjoyed. He said, 'Excellent! Build another one for me, exactly like that. Remember, it must be a three-story house, identical to that one.' The craftsmen agreed, but secretly wondered what foolish thing he would do this time. Nevertheless, they had to follow his orders, so they all got to work.

One day, the landlord came to the construction site, looking around curiously. Feeling puzzled, he asked the craftsmen who were laying the foundation, 'What are you doing here?' 'We are building a three-story house, just as you instructed,' they replied. 'No, no, that's wrong. I want you to build the third floor. I only want the topmost floor; I don't want the bottom two. Tear them down quickly. Build the topmost floor first.'

The craftsmen burst into laughter and said, 'We can't build only the topmost floor without the others; you'll have to build it yourself!' The craftsmen left, and the foolish landlord stared blankly at the foundation. He didn't realize that no matter how skilled the craftsman, it's impossible to build only the topmost floor without the two below.