Once upon a time, an emperor in China received a huge gift from India. How not big, the prize is in the form of an elephant. At that time, no one in China had ever seen such a big animal.
“Hmmm, I wonder how much this beast weighs?” said the emperor, stroking his beard and watching the elephant.
“Your Majesty, I beg your pardon. I don’t know how to weigh the big beast?” the emperor’s maid said.
“We don’t have scales big enough to weigh an elephant,” he said again.
The emperor then ordered him to find someone who could weigh an elephant. However, no one knows how to weigh an elephant. Suddenly, the emperor’s son who was only eight years old said, “Father, I know how to weigh an elephant.”
The emperor and everyone in the palace smiled at the crown prince’s boldness in expressing his opinion.
“Oh yes? How did you do that? You are still small, my son. But, fine. What do you think? How do you weigh the elephant?” said the emperor.
The crown prince requested that the elephant be put on a boat. Then, he ordered the sailors to mark the water mark on the body of the boat while riding the elephant.
After that, the elephant was lowered again from the boat. Then, the crown prince asked that the boat be filled with bricks until the water level in the body of the boat was the same as when the elephant was put on the boat.
After that, the bricks were brought to the edge of the lake and weighed bit by bit. Thus, the weight of the elephant can be known. The emperor and everyone else were amazed by the crown prince’s intelligence.
