A young man who didn't want to do anything with his life spent his time troubling the villagers. Not a day would go by without him causing problems for others. The young people of his age would always tell him, "Mbukutulu, find something to do. You're an intelligent man. Instead of bothering everyone, you can engage in reasonable activities." But the young man turned a deaf ear and continued disturbing the peace of the village.
One morning, he got the idea to torment an old man who claimed to be the wisest and most cunning. He caught a bird in his hands and went to see the wise old man, asking him, "I hold a bird in my hands. They say you are a wise and intelligent old man. Can you tell me if this bird is dead or alive?"
The old man looked at the young man and the bird he held. He thought to himself, "This young man is very cunning. If I say the bird is dead, he will let it fly away and make a fool out of me. If I say it is alive, he will crush it and show it to me as dead to confound me. What should I do?"
While the old man took some time to think and give a fitting answer to the question, the young man was confident that he had trapped the old man. He lifted his head and looked attentively at the young man, visibly proud of having confounded the old man. But the old man calmly replied, "Young man, I have the answer to your riddle. The life of the bird depends on you. If I say it is alive, you will crush it and show it to me as dead. If I say it is dead, you will let it fly away. Therefore, the life of this little bird depends on you."