In Hiding

There once was one who was highly known and respected holy man in a small village. He had four students, but seemed prouder about one in particular. His other three students sensed this, and therefore one day, questioned him about his apparent show of favoritism.

Being old and wise, the teacher decided to give them a test which would help them find their own answers to their question. He called all four students together and he gave each one a chicken. He then told them that he wanted each one of them to take their chicken to a place where nobody could see them. Then kill the chicken, hide it, and return to the school. All four students grabbed their chickens and departed, each in a different direction.

It did not take long for the three students who had questioned the teacher to return. As the day began to drift away, they started to laugh and make fun of the student who had not returned. They said he was dumb for not being able to complete such a simple task and return. Finally, around midnight, the fourth student returned to the school, still carrying his chicken.

This really made the other students laugh, and they asked the teacher, "How can this possibly be your favorite and most obedient student?"

The teacher turned to the fourth student and said, "Can you explain why you are still carrying the chicken�"

He replied, "Forgive me teacher, but I could not find a place to do as you asked, because everywhere I went, God was there watching me!"

The teacher smiled and left for bed.