One cold winter morning a young man, having heard there lived a wise man who knew all about jade, walked five miles through the snow to pay a visit to him. When he arrived at the house he knocked on the door and the Jade Master answered with a broom in his hand:
Jade Master: Yes?
Young Man: I want to learn about jade.
Jade Master: Very well then, come in out of the cold.
They sit by the fire sipping hot green tea. The Jade Master presses a green stone into the young man's hand and begins to talk about tree frogs. The young man interrupts saying to him, "I didn't come here to learn about frogs, I came to learn about jade!" The Jade Master takes the stone and tells the young man to go home and return in one week.
The following week the young man returns. The Jade Master presses another green stone into the young man's hand and continues to talk about tree frogs. Again the young man interrupts and again the Jade Master sends him home.
Weeks pass - the young man interrupts less and less. In the meantime the young man also learns to brew the hot green tea, clean up the kitchen and sweep the floors. Winter passes, spring arrives. One day the young man looks into his palm and observes: "The stone I hold is not genuine jade."