The Bamboo Tree

Once upon a time in China, a man planted some bamboos in his back garden. He would diligently water and fertilize the soil where he planted the bamboos. After a year a neighbour who passed by his garden saw him watering and stopped to ask him, "Can I ask you mate, what are you watering actually?"
The man said, "Well, I'm watering bamboo trees!"
The neighbour said, "Blimey but I don't see a bloody thing!"
The man kept quiet and continued watering.

At the end of the second year the same neighbour walked past and saw the man again doing his watering. He couldn't help but asked again, "Mate, are you still watering your 'bamboo trees'?"
The man looked at the neighbour and said, "Yeah, what else d'you suppose I'm doing?!"
The neighbour said, "Well I still don't see a bloody thing here! The land is still as bald and barren as an eagle's arse!"
The man kept quiet and continued watering.

And so it was for the third and fourth year. The neighbour would see the man watering and fertilizing an empty land and there was still no sight of the bamboo trees, not even a small shoot.

On the fifth year the neighbour couldn't stand it anymore when he saw the man still watering his "bamboo trees". He stopped and said to the man, "For jeez' sake mate, I think you'd better stop this crazy business of yours! You've been watering your 'bamboo trees' for the past five years and for cryin' out loud, there's nothing to show for it!" The man looked at his neighbour and said, "You can say whatever you want. Just come back in five weeks' time."

The five weeks passed and the neighbour went to see the man. And lo and behold, there the bamboo trees have all grown to the height of thirty metres!


The neighbour exclaimed in delight, "Blimey! I never knew these fXXXXXX bamboos can grow so fast in just five weeks!"
"Is it five weeks?" the man said to the neighbour, "Or is it five years?"