1) A strong wood-cutter was hired by a timber merchant and was able to cut down 18 trees on his first day, impressing his boss. 2) However, over subsequent days he cut down fewer and fewer trees, eventually risking losing his job for being unproductive. 3) When his boss asked when he last sharpened his axe, the wood-cutter realized he had been too busy trying to cut more trees instead of taking time to sharpen his axe, which had dulled over time.