THE LOST FISHERMEN

One day, twelve fishermen went

fishing. Some waded in the water
while the others stayed on their
bancas. On their way home, a
fishermen said, “We have gone in the
water and some bathe in it. I hope
nobody is drowned.”
“Let us count, said another.
“There were twelve of us in the
morning.”
They all counted but each man
forgot to count himself. So each
counted eleven.
“Someone has surely drowned,”
they said.
 “Who among us is the one?” Then
they asked a stranger coming by to
help them in their trouble. He
laughed and said, “I’ll count you.”
He stuck the nearest man on the
shoulder with his cane and said,
“One!” Then he stuck the next man
and said, “Two!” Then he went on
striking them till he had counted
twelve.
“God bless you!” the fishermen
said together. “Thank you, you have
found out that we are all safe.”