Long ago, a poor farmer bought a cooked chicken on credit from a shopkeeper. He planned to pay later once he had enough money. After some time, the farmer returned to settle the debt. The shopkeeper pulled out his abacus and pretended to calculate for a long while. At last, he said the farmer owed three hundred coins.
The farmer was shocked. One cooked chicken cost more than one hundred chickens at the market, which made no sense. When the farmer questioned him, the shopkeeper confidently explained that if the chicken had not been eaten, it would have laid eggs. Those eggs would have hatched into more chickens, which would then lay even more eggs. On and on he argued, demanding the farmer pay this unreasonable amount. The farmer refused, so the shopkeeper took the case to court. Because the shopkeeper bribed the judge, he won the case, and the poor farmer left in deep despair.
On his way home, the farmer met Aphanti, a man famous for his wisdom and kindness toward the poor. After hearing the story, Aphanti told the farmer to return to court and demand a public retrial. Aphanti promised he would come and speak for him. The judge agreed to reopen the case, but warned that if the farmer lost again, the fine would be doubled.
The next day, a large crowd gathered. The shopkeeper repeated his long argument. When the judge questioned the farmer, he said nothing and explained that he was waiting for someone to defend him. Aphanti arrived late, and the judge angrily asked why he had delayed the court. Aphanti calmly replied that he had been busy roasting rice seeds so they could be planted the next day.
The judge laughed and shouted that Aphanti was foolish, saying roasted seeds could never grow. Hearing this, Aphanti smiled and replied that the judge was absolutely right. Then he added, a cooked chicken that has already been eaten can never lay eggs either. The crowd immediately understood and cheered in agreement.
Faced with this undeniable logic, the judge and the shopkeeper were left speechless. In the end, the court ruled that the farmer only had to pay the normal market price of the chicken, and justice was finally done.