One day， deities from various places came to pay homage to the Emperor of Heaven.

The emperor gave his minister in charge of wine cups the following order：

“Register the names of the deities first， then bestow wine upon them.”

The minister registered the names of the deities on bamboo slips， and prepared to bestow wine. But he kept on working for 3， 000 years and had not finished the registration yet.

The emperor inquired：

“Why havent you finished registering？”

The minister reported：

“All the deities have brought their sedan-chair carriers.”

The emperor ordered：

“Then register the sedan-chair carriers as well.”

7， 000 years passed and the registration was still not done.

When the emperor inquired again， the minister had no way out but reported：

“The sedan-chair carriers of the deities have brought their own carriers too.”

So the wine was not bestowed after all.

The Emperor of Heaven remained silent for a long time and then heaved a deep sigh.endprint