Shepherd boy -  what has in  common an old Grimm's tale, Stephen Hawking and the number of Pi 

źródło: https://quotefancy.com/quote/910214

Last week one of my clever student brought me a tale of Grimm Brothers with a suggestion that it is a perfect story for my blog.

I started to ponder and I think it's a perfect one for 14 th March 2018.
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Shepherd boy 

There was once on a time a shepherd boy whose fame spread far and wide because of the wise answers which he gave to every question. 

The King of the country heard of it but did not believe it, and sent for the boy. Then he said to him: "If you give me an answer to three of my questions , I will treat you as my own child, and you will dwell with me in my royal palace."

The boy said: "What are the three questions?" 

The King asked: "How many drops of water are there in the ocean?"

The shepherd boy answered: "Lord King, if you will have all the rivers on earth dammed up so that not a single drop runs from them into the sea until I have counted it and I will tell you how many drops there are in the sea." 

The King liked the answer and said: "The next question is, how many stars are there in the sky?" The shepherd boy said: "Give me a sheet of white paper," and then he made so many fine points on it with a pen that they could scarcely be seen, and it was all but impossible to count them; any one who looked at them would have lost his sight. 

Then he said: "There are as many stars in the sky as there are points on the paper; just count them."

But no one was able to do it.

Finally the King said: "The third question is, how many seconds of time are there in eternity." Then said the shepherd boy: "There is the Diamond Mountain. It takes an hour to climb it and an hour to go around it. Every hundred years a little bird comes and sharpens its beak on it, and when the whole mountain is worn away by this, then the first second of eternity will be over."

The King said: “You have answered the three questions as a wise man. I will be honoured if you dwell with me and I will regard you as my own son”

P.S. Rest in peace Mr Stephen Hawking