There was a young man who was very good with his bow and arrow. He was so good that he never missed his targets, no matter how far they were. This made him very proud of his skills, and he would perform on the streets for everyone to see.
One day, the young man was performing on the streets as usual, when an old oil seller passed by. He watched the young man’s performance and did not seem impressed. The audience was clapping and praising the young man, but the old oil seller did not clap at all. The young man saw the oil seller and wondered why he was not impressed. So, he asked the oil seller, “Don’t you think I am very skilled with the bow and arrow? Why didn’t you clap for me like everybody else?” The old man laughed and said, “There is nothing special about your skill, practice makes perfect.”
The young man said angrily, “Do you even know how to use a bow and arrow? What do you know? How dare you insult me so!” The old man replied, “I can pour oil better than you. I can show you if you don’t believe me.” The oil seller took out a bottle and placed a copper coin over the mouth of the bottle. There was a tiny hole in the center of the coin. The oil seller filled his ladle with oil and stood on a table. Then, he began to pour oil into the bottle. The oil flowed like a thin golden string into the bottle below. After he finished pouring the ladle of oil, the audience took the copper coin from the top of the bottle and discovered that not a single drop of oil landed on the coin. Everyone was amazed by the oil seller’s remarkable skill! The old man told the young man, “See? A small trick such as mine also comes from practice.” After seeing the oil man’s performance, the young man felt ashamed of himself, and became a humbler person.
