The farmer and the sheep: Difference between revisions

From The Jolly Contrarian
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
A parable for our modern times.
{{g}}A parable for our modern times.


A stock agent visited a huge sheep station in New Zealand's high country. Looking over the huge expanse of the Hakataramea Valley, filled with sheep grazing and wandering to and fro, the stock agent shrugged and said, “I can't give you a price unless I know how many sheep there are in your flock”.
A stock agent visited a huge sheep station in New Zealand’s high country. Looking over the huge expanse of the Hakataramea Valley, filled with sheep grazing and wandering to and fro, the stock agent shrugged and said, “I can’t give you a price unless I know how many sheep there are in your flock”.


The farmer stood quite still, and stared down the valley. After about a minute {{sex|he}} turned to the agent. “Eight thousand, four hundred and twenty six”.
The farmer stood quite still, and stared down the valley. After about a minute {{sex|he}} turned to the agent. “Eight thousand, four hundred and twenty six”.

Revision as of 12:01, 25 June 2020

The Jolly Contrarian’s Glossary
The snippy guide to financial services lingo.™


Index — Click the ᐅ to expand:

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Requests? Insults? We’d love to 📧 hear from you.
Sign up for our newsletter.

A parable for our modern times.

A stock agent visited a huge sheep station in New Zealand’s high country. Looking over the huge expanse of the Hakataramea Valley, filled with sheep grazing and wandering to and fro, the stock agent shrugged and said, “I can’t give you a price unless I know how many sheep there are in your flock”.

The farmer stood quite still, and stared down the valley. After about a minute he turned to the agent. “Eight thousand, four hundred and twenty six”.

“How on earth did you manage that?” gasped the stunned stock agent.

“Easy. I counted all the legs and divided by four”.