In a far away land, there lived a hardworking and kind trader. Mostly, he traded in salt. He also had a horse that was very lazy and always avoided work. The trader used him to carry sacks of salt from one town to the other.

One day the trader said to the horse, "Here! Let me load these sacks up and let's go to the town across the river to sell some salt."

However, the horse was lazy and he said in his mind, "I am so tired today. Why do I have to work every day? I wish I could sleep throughout the day but no I have to carry these loads of salt and move!"

The horse was crossing the river. Suddenly he slipped and fell into the water. As he was carrying sacks of salt on his back the salt got wet and dissolved in the water. So when the horse got up, the sacks on his back were lighter.

The horse thought to himself, ‘Wow! This seems to be a good idea. Every time I dip in the river, the salt would dissolve and my burden could be less. I must try doing this more often! I hope master is not watching.’

When master reached the town to sell the salt it weighed just half of what he loaded. Thinking it might be his miscalculation he sold whatever salt was left and returned home with his horse.

The next morning, he again loaded his horse with sacks of salt and started to pack his food. The horse yet again started walking before him and made it to the bridge. The horse said– “I must try the dipping trick again before master reaches here.” And the horse jumped into the river.

When master reached the town to sell the salt it again weighed just half of what he loaded. The trader got really confused as the sacks started weighing lesser every time.

The horse purposely started slipping into the water every day, so that the sacks became lighter.