14 How Much Land do we need?

How Much Land do we Need?

There once lived a farmer who owned a good amount of land and this made him fairly wealthy. But he was never happy with what he had; he was always looking for just a little bit more. One day he received an offer that he could not turn down, for 1000 rubbles he could have all the land that he could walk around in one day. The only catch in the deal was that having set out to walk at daybreak he had to be back at his starting point before sunset.

He was a fit man and took up the challenge. Early the next day he set off at a very fast pace. By midday, he had covered a good amount of land, he was very tired, but he kept on walking covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he began to realise that time was running short and he was a long way from his starting point. 

He quickened his pace almost to running speed but still, his starting point seemed a long way off. As the sun began to set, he once more picked up his pace trying desperately to get back to his starting point. He so wanted to be the largest landowner for miles around. As the sun began to drop beneath the horizon, he saw the starting line. He called on every last drop of strength he had and pushed himself as hard as he could.  Just as the sun disappeared, he fell across the starting line.

he was unable to pay the 1000 rubbles because the final burst of effort had killed him. His workers dug a grave on the very spot where he had died. It measured not much over six feet long and three feet wide. They considered carving a gravestone with the words, " How much land does a person need?" 

The answer is simple, six foot by three!




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