One day, a farmer bought four donkeys at the village marketplace.
He mounted one and began riding home. As he rode, he noticed only three donkeys walking ahead. "I wonder what happened," he thought, forgetting to count the donkey he was riding.
Upon arriving home, his wife met him. "I see you bought fine donkeys," she said. "Did you get a good price?"
"Yes," he replied, "but I'm puzzled. I purchased four donkeys this morning and was sure I had all four when I left the market. Yet now I seem to have only three. See? One, two, three." He still hadn't remembered he was sitting on one of them.
At first, his wife stared at him, waiting for a smile, thinking he was joking. When she realized he wasn't, she turned away and laughed. "How strange," she said. "You see only three, but I see five."