The shepherd Hypotenuse had two sons. The elder, who was called a^2, was obedient and good. He tended his father’s flock with an acute sense of responsibility. b^2, the lesser of the two, was a more obtuse boy he was often found leaning against the fence at an angle, looking out over the entire area of the farm, lost in thought. Hypotenuse thought it just didn’t add up, he couldn’t fathom it, he had raised them both in equal measure why then were the boys’ attitudes so incongruous. Why was there such a division?
One day Hypotenuse went to b^2 and asked him why he was not more like his brother a^2. Why did he not stay inside the perimeter of normal behavior?
b^2 spoke saying, “Father I can’t begin to enumerate the varied, infinite, and unquantifiable answers to that question.”
Then Hypotenuse said, “ Have you not a fraction of work ethic?”
To which the lesser son responded, “ Father I could never be equal to your expectations of me. So, I must go and subtract myself from your company.”
And so b^2 was taken away, leaving only a^2 behind to tend their father’s flock. Five years passed and b^2 traveled at a speed of ten miles per day. Now it just so happened that there was a train going approximately double his speed leaving Chicago at 9 am. If b^2 was only carrying five pounds then how many fattened calves would be killed when he returns home?
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