The Shepherd and the Bureaucrat

　 A bureaucrat was hiking when he came upon a shepherd tending a large flock. The bureaucrat took a fancy to the sheep and asked the shepherd, "If I can guess how many there are, may I have one?" The shepherd thought it unlikely the man would guess the exact number, so he agreed.

　　The bureaucrat guessed, "You have 287 sheep." The shepherd was astonished, since this was exactly right.

　　"Can I pick out my sheep now?" asked the bureaucrat. The shepherd grudgingly gave his permission. Selecting one, the bureaucrat slung it over his shoulders to carry home.

　　The shepherd got an idea." If I guess your occupation'," he said, "may I have my sheep back?" The bureaucrat was surprised, but figured there was little chance of the shepherd guessing correctly, so he went along. "You're a bureaucrat, "announced the shepherd. Amazed, the bureaucrat asked.

　　"How did you know?"

　　The shepherd replied, "Put the dog down and we'll talk about it.

牧羊人與官僚

　　一位官僚在徒步旅行，這時他看到一個牧羊人在看護一大群羊。這個官僚特別喜歡羊，就問牧羊人：“如果我能猜出有多少只，我能領走一只羊嗎？”牧羊人想他不可能猜中準確的數目，就同意了。

　　官僚猜道：“你有二百八十七只羊。”牧羊人驚呆了，因為這確是準確的數目。

　　“我可以挑一只羊了吧？”官僚問道。牧羊人勉強地答應了。官僚挑了一只羊，把它甩在肩上就往家里扛。

　　牧羊人來了主意。“如果我猜中你的身份，”他說，“我可以收回我的羊嗎？”官僚甚感驚奇，但考慮到牧羊人猜中的機會很小，就同意了。“你是個官員，”牧羊人猜道。

　　官僚一愣，問道：“你怎么知道的？”

　　牧羊人回答：“先把我的狗放下，然后我們再說話。”