A Christmas case study

A shepherd was tending his flock in a remote pasture near Bethlehem recently when suddenly a dust cloud approached at high speed. The previous day, three men on camels had passed that way, but this dust cloud was moving faster. The dust cloud stopped suddenly and the shepherd was able to make out what appeared to be a car. It was in fact a black BMW with darkened windows and black alloy wheels. Sparks and flames flew from the quadruple exhaust pipes as the car approached.

The driver, a young man in a dark Armani suit, Ferragamo shoes, an Ermenegildo Zegna shirt and Oakley sunglasses got out of the car and approached the bemused shepherd. He didn't appear to be bearing gifts but asked the shepherd, “hello sir, if I can tell you how many sheep you have in your flock, will you allow to take one? The shepherd looked at the man, then glanced at his peacefully grazing flock and answered, “Sure.” The driver parked his car, plugged his microscopic cell phone into a laptop and briskly surfed to a GPS satellite navigation system on the Internet and initiated a remote body-heat scan of the area.

While the computer was occupied, he sent some e-mails via his iPhone and, after a few minutes, nodded solemnly at the responses. Finally, he printed a 150 page report on the little laser printer in his glove compartment, turned to the shepherd, waving the report, and pronounced “You have exactly 1,586 sheep.”

“Impressive. One of my sheep is yours,” said the shepherd. He watched the young man select an animal and bundle it into his car. Then the shepherd said, “If I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my sheep?”

Pleased to meet a fellow sportsman, the young man replied “You’re on.” “You are a consultant,” said the shepherd without hesitation. “That’s correct,” said the young man, impressed. “How ever did you guess?”

“It wasn’t a guess,” replied the shepherd. “You drive into my field uninvited. You ask me to pay you for information I already know, answer questions I haven’t asked, and you know nothing about my business. Now give me back my dog."