There were two men working for the city council. One would dig and dig and dig until a deep hole in the ground appeared. The other would come behind him and fill the hole with piles of dirt.

The two men worked furiously: one digging a hole, the other filling it up again.

A man was watching the pair from the footpath but couldn’t understand what they were doing. Finally he had to ask.

He said to the hole digger: “I appreciate how hard you work, but what are you doing? You dig a hole and your partner comes behind you and fills it up again!”

The hole digger replied: “Oh yeah, it must look funny, but the guy who plants the trees is sick today.”