a rich man

There was a rich man who had
three sons. They lived in a large house
in the town of Keelung in northern
Taiwan.
One day, he said to his sons, "You
are no longer children. You must do
something to earn your own living.
When I die, I am not going to leave
you very much money. I started with
nothing and made a fortune by working
hard. You must do the same. Now,
here is two hundred dollars for each of
you. You can use it to start your own
business."
Three Foolish Sons
The three sons went off separately.
The eldest son met a hunter. He
thought that hunting would be fine
so he bought a gun from him for two
hundred dollars.
The second son met a basketmaker. He bought a set of tools from
him so that he could make baskets.
The third son met a doctor who
told him that he had a medicine which
could cure all diseases. He bought it
from him for two hundred dollars.
When the rich man heard what his
sons had done with the money he had
given them, he was very angry. "What
stupid sons I have!" He said.
One day, the eldest son tried to
shoot a fly on his father's forehead.
Instead, he killed his father. The
second son picked up his tools and
tried to repair the damage to his
father's head. The third son tried to
cure his father with medicine which
he had bought.
Everyone said that the three sons
were very foolish. They had spent all
their money uselessly.
Taken from Favourite Stories from Taiwan, 2000