In the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), there lived a famous politician named Wen Yanbo, who, served as prime minister for emperors of four generations. He was very clever and was always ready to help others when he was a child.
Young Wen Yanbo liked football very much. He usually played with his friends in the courtyard. One day, he was kicking the ball around with his friends. One of his friends kicked the ball out of the courtyard by accident. Unfortunately the ball rolled into a deep hole at the root of an old tree.
All the children rushed over and looked into the hole. The hollow tree was too dark to see anything. The entrance was so narrow that no one could squeeze through. They tried to reach into the hole but felt nothing. Another kid carried over a long pole and tried to locate the ball using it. But the hollow tree was full
of bends and curves and it was no use.
What could they do? Nobody had any idea and they just looked at each other almost resigned to losing their ball.
At this moment, Wen Yanbo, who had been quietly thinking, said, “I have an idea. How about pouring water into the hole? The ball will float up.” The children thought this idea might work. They returned home, filled basins and buckets and poured water into the hole.
Soon, the hollow tree was flooded and the ball floated up. Wen Yanbo got the ball back and excitedly told his friends, “We made it, now we can get on with the game.” All the children cheered.
