One day the man said, “Youth, let us go to cut a [branch for a] plough.”
The youth said, “Hā, let us go,” and taking an axe, the man and the youth went to the forest on the river bank.
Having gone there, the man said to the youth, “Cut thou this tree at the root.” The youth cut the tree at the root. After he had cut it, the plough of the tree was not good.
Afterwards having gone near another tree, when they looked at it there was a good plough in The man said, “Having gone up this tree, cut thou that plough which is to be seen.” [He then left him]. Then the youth having gone up the tree, when he was cutting the root (lower end) of the plough while sitting down [on the branch] at the top (or outer end) of the plough, a certain Lord (Buddhist monk) came. When the Lord looked up at the tree, having seen that the youth sitting at the top of the plough was cutting at the root, he said, “Foolish youth! Why, while you are at the top, are you cutting at the root? When it is cut at the root it will fall together with thee also, will it not, into the river? Sitting at the root [end], chop towards the top.” Having said this the Lord went away. The youth said, “What does the Lord know about it? I shall cut it this way.” Having said this, as he was chopping and chopping, the plough being cut at the root, the plough and the youth and the axe fell into the water of the river. Then the youth, having got up quickly, walked ashore, taking the axe and the plough. He put down the plough, and taking the axe, ran along the path on which the Lord went. Having run there he overtook the Lord. Having joined him, he said, “Lord, as you said that I should fall into the river you must tell me the day when I shall die. If not, I shall chop you with this axe.” The Lord, when he looked, thought that there was no means of saying otherwise; on that account he said, “On the day when a drop of rain has fallen on the crown of thy head thou wilt die.” The Lord then went away.