A traveling salesman had to walk so much that his feet often hurt. His doctor told him that salt water was the best thing for them, so the salesman decided¹ to go to the sea for his vacation that year. Since all of the hotels near the sea were expensive, he went to a small hotel far away from the beach. 

 

In the morning he went down to the calm sea with a bucket²（水桶）, went over to the lifeguard and asked whether he would be allowed to take a bucket of salt water. The lifeguard seemed very surprised but said, "Yes, although you'll have to pay twenty-five cents for it." 

 

The salesman gave the lifeguard twenty-five cents, filled his bucket, took it to his hotel and put his feet in the water. 

 

After lunch, he came down to the beach again. The tide³ had gone out now, so the sea was much lower⁴. The salesman thought, "That man has a very good business. He must have sold thousands of buckets⁵ since this morning."

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