A king was once in need of a faithful servant. He gave notice that he wanted a man to do a day's work, and two men came and asked to be admitted. He engaged them, and set them to fill a basket with water from a well, saying he would come in the evening again.
After filling one or two buckets (水桶), one man said. "Why do we do it? You see, it is no use putting the water into the basket, and it runs out at once." The other man answered, "It is none of our business. We promised to do it, and we are to get paid for it. "
The first speaker thought it foolish and then went away. The other man continued his work. Towards evening, he had nearly emptied the well. Looking into the basket, he saw something shining. It was a ring of great value, which his bucket had brought from the muddy bottom of the well. "Now I come to understand the use of pouring the water into a basket." he said to himself. At this moment the king came up. Seeing the ring, he knew the man had been doing exactly as he had ordered, although the work had seemed useless.
The king knew he had found a servant he could trust at last. He told the man to keep the ring for himself, saying, "You have been faithful in a little thing: now I see I can trust you in great things. It is your attitude that makes the difference. From now on you shall be the head of my servants. "
