A long time ago, there was a child cowherd who herded cattle for his landlord every day. His family only had one ox which was by far the most valuable thing they owned. The child looked after the ox very well and the ox always obeyed his orders. He loved the beast very much. When he herded the cattle for the landlord, he always brought his family’s ox with him.
One day, the boy finished his work and brought the landlord’s cattle back to the byre. Then, he led his family’s ox back home. When he got home, he saw many people around his house creating a great tumult. He went closer to find out what was going on. The landlord was collecting the rent. His family was too poor to pay it. His father was begging for a few more days grace. The landlord was enraged and refused outright.
At this moment, the landlord spotted the ox beside the boy and immediately coveted it. He tried to snatch the rope from the boy’s hand. However the ox was all his family lived for so how could the boy let it go?
The landlord spoke, “I’ll give you a chance. Do you see the big tree over there? Tell me the height of the tree in one hour. You’re not allowed to cut down the tree. If you can do it, I won’t take your ox and I will forego rent for this year. If you can’t do it, your ox is mine.”
The crowd saw that the tree was wide and high. How could the child’s family measure such a tree? There seemed no way out. Nobody had any idea how to do it. The landlord smirked and was just about to take the rope, when the little boy shouted out, “Stop! I can do it.” People could hardly believe their ears.
The boy took a straight stick and a ruler. He measured the stick. It was two meters long. He stood the stick up straight and measured the shadow it cast. It was one-third of a meter long. Then he measured the length of the shadow of the tree. It was 8.33 meters long. Then, the boy spoke loudly, “The height of the tree is 50 meters.” The landlord didn’t believe it. He had the tree cut down and measured it. It was indeed 50 meters high. The landlord was rendered speechless and he had no choice but to leave with his tail between his legs.
