An old man named Wilfred lived in a charming small town tucked amid swaying hills and bubbling brooks. Wilfred, despite his elderly age, was vivacious and enthusiastic.

He had a cheeky sparkle in his eye and a propensity for coming up with creative solutions to difficulties. But Wilfred had suddenly found himself in a difficult situation—he needed a job.

One day, Wilfred entered the neighborhood building site where Mr. Thompson, a stern-appearing foreman, was in charge of a group of workers. With a look of optimism, Wilfred approached Mr. Thompson and said, “Sir, I’d want to work here. I may be ancient, but my mind is sharp.

Mr. Thompson gave Wilfred a dubious look. “We’ll see about that,” he complained. “I have a quick test for you to see how smart you are.”

Wilfred excitedly nodded, willing to meet any challenge. “Go right ahead and ask!”

The foreman asked the opening query after clearing his throat. “Represent the number nine without using numbers.”

Wilfred deliberately scratched his chin while a sly gleam danced in his eyes. “That’s easy,” he said. He drew three trees on a piece of paper with quick, deliberate strokes and gave it to Mr. Thompson.

The foreman looked at the paper with a raised eyebrow. He asked, perplexed, “What’s this?”

William smiled. “Do you lack brains? Three trees added together equal nine.

Laughter exited the foreman’s mouth. Good enough. You did well on the initial test.

Wilfred excitedly anticipated the upcoming task as his heart filled with pride.

Mr. Thompson once more cleared his throat. “This is your second query, please. Apply the same guidelines this time, but represent 99 instead.

Wilfred regarded the horizon while deep in concentration, his brows furrowing. A second later, a sly grin appeared on his face. He took the piece of paper with the trees on it, making a note on each one before returning it to the foreman.

Mr. Thompson puzzled over the page as he looked at it. How on earth did you portray 99 with that?

Wilfred grinned even more. “Every tree is now filthy. It’s a dirty tree on top of a dirty tree on top. Now there are 99!”

The foreman couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his own delight. I’ll give you that, “You’ve got a unique way of thinking.”

Wilfred anxiously anticipated the last task as his eyes sparkled with delight.

Mr. Thompson inhaled deeply, his lips twitching slightly in a smile. “Final query. The same principles apply this time, but symbolize 100.

Wilfred sat back in his chair and had a thoughtful expression. He was deep in meditation as he regarded nothing. Then, it was as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head. Once more picking up the piece of paper, he made a little mark at the foot of each tree before giving it to the foreman.

Mr. Thompson rubbed his brow in perplexity as he looked at the paper. If you think that represents a hundred, you must be insane.

With his voice just above a whisper, Wilfred leaned in. “A small dog passed by and urinated by each tree. You now have a dirty tree and a turd, plus another dirty tree and a turd, for a total of 100.

Mr. Thompson erupted into boisterous laughter, which reverberated across the building site. “Wilfred, you’ve definitely earned this job. Greetings from the team.

Wilfred so demonstrated that age was just a number and that a distinct viewpoint might lead to unexpected chances with a little humor and a lot of cleverness. Wilfred couldn’t help but bask in the glory of his victory and the potential of many more amusing escapades as he put on his construction hat and joined the crew.