A long time ago, there was a rich man whose foolishness knew no bounds.
The fool visited another rich man's house and saw a magnificent three-storeyed building which was tall, spacious and bright. He was extremely envious and said to himself, "My wealth is no less than his. Why haven't I got a house like this?"
He immediately called in a carpenter. "Did you build that house?" he inquired. "Yes, indeed," answered the carpenter, whereupon he ordered a similar house be built for him.
The carpenter started to clear the ground and pile up mud bricks. When the fool saw this, he was puzzled and asked, "What kind of a house are you going to build?" "A three-storeyed house," came the reply. "I don't want the first and second storeys. Build the top storey first." "That simply cannot be done," the carpenter argued. "Whoever heard of building the second storey without first constructing the ground storey, and without the second storey, how can you build the third?"
But the fool insisted, "I don't need the first two storeys. You must build only the top storey for me."