Physicians Two

A Wicked Old Man, finding himself ill, sent for a physician who prescribed treatment and then went away. Shortly after, the Wicked Old Man summoned another physician, keeping the first's visit a secret. This new doctor ordered an entirely different treatment.

This pattern continued for several weeks, with the two physicians visiting him on alternate days. Each doctor treated him for different ailments, prescribing increasingly larger doses of medicine and imposing more rigorous nursing.

One day, however, the two physicians unexpectedly met at the old man's bedside while he was sleeping. Upon discovering the truth, a violent quarrel broke out between them.

"My good friends," said the patient, awakening to the noise of their dispute and quickly grasping its cause, "please be more reasonable. If I could endure both of you for weeks, can you not endure each other for just a little while? I have actually been well for ten days now, but I have remained in bed in the hope of gaining strength through rest, which would justify taking your medicines. So far, I have touched none of it."