was a chicken farmer who lived in a small village in China.
> One year, all of his chickens were afflicted with a strange blight that
> caused them to lose their feathers. The farmer was deeply concerned
> about this, because winter was coming, and, if the chickens had no
> feathers, they would freeze to death. So, the farmer decided to consult
> the two wisest men in the land.
>
> First, he visited Mr. Ching, the renowned scholar. Mr. Ching leafed
> through all his agricultural and medicinal texts and poured over books
> and scrolls well into the night. Finally, he returned to the farmer and
> told him that if he crushed the leaves of a gum tree into powder, made
> it into tea, and fed it to his chickens, they would be cured.
>
> The farmer then went to Mr. Ming, the great seer. Mr. Ming cast stones,
> read tea leaves, and poked through entrails until finally he came up
> with the answer: "Tea made from gum leaves will cause feathers to stick
> to chicken."
>
> Now the farmer was ecstatic. The two wisest men in the land had given
> him exactly the same prescription.
>
> So, as soon as he returned home, he took some gum leaves and made tea
> from them. He mixed this with the chicken feed and fed it to his
> chickens. But it didn't work. The chickens continued to lose their
> feathers, and, with the onset of winter, they all froze.
>
> The moral of this story: "All of Ching's courses and all of Ming's ken,
> couldn't get gum tea to feather a hen!"
>
> One year, all of his chickens were afflicted with a strange blight that
> caused them to lose their feathers. The farmer was deeply concerned
> about this, because winter was coming, and, if the chickens had no
> feathers, they would freeze to death. So, the farmer decided to consult
> the two wisest men in the land.
>
> First, he visited Mr. Ching, the renowned scholar. Mr. Ching leafed
> through all his agricultural and medicinal texts and poured over books
> and scrolls well into the night. Finally, he returned to the farmer and
> told him that if he crushed the leaves of a gum tree into powder, made
> it into tea, and fed it to his chickens, they would be cured.
>
> The farmer then went to Mr. Ming, the great seer. Mr. Ming cast stones,
> read tea leaves, and poked through entrails until finally he came up
> with the answer: "Tea made from gum leaves will cause feathers to stick
> to chicken."
>
> Now the farmer was ecstatic. The two wisest men in the land had given
> him exactly the same prescription.
>
> So, as soon as he returned home, he took some gum leaves and made tea
> from them. He mixed this with the chicken feed and fed it to his
> chickens. But it didn't work. The chickens continued to lose their
> feathers, and, with the onset of winter, they all froze.
>
> The moral of this story: "All of Ching's courses and all of Ming's ken,
> couldn't get gum tea to feather a hen!"
>