Once upon a time in a small village, there lived a pundit. He had been to Kashi (Holy and a place of learning for Hindus) and studied the Vedas and the Shashtras. He was proud of his knowledge and learning.
One day the pundit went to the village oil merchant to buy some cooking oil. The oil merchant was sitting in his oil mill at the back of his shop. As was usual in those days the oil mill was powered by a bullock, round whose neck the merchant had tied a string of small bells. As the bullock went round and round with the oil mill's yoke the bells round its neck tinkled.
When the merchant saw the pundit he got up from the side of his oil mill and came into the shop. He weighed the requested amount of oil and gave it to the pundit.
The pundit saw that in spite of the merchant not being there, the bullock did not stop but kept on going round and round with the mill yoke. Surprised, he said, "Mehamood, you have come in into this shop, but the bullock in your mill is still going round and round!"
Mehamood said, " Look punditji! I am all alone. I have tied a string of small bells round the bullock's neck. When it goes round the mill its head moves and the bells tinkle. So I come to know that it is running the mill. As soon as the tinkle of the bells stops, I know that it has stopped moving. I then go out and cajole it to move again. This the I manage my shop as well as the oil mill."
