E tenebras, lux dormiens

I read a story that I've been unable to find again. Here's the paraphrased version

There were two boys who were scheming to outwit the wise man who knew everything. One of them found a baby bird and held it in his hands. He told his friend, "I will speak to the wise man. I'll ask him what I have in my hands. He will say that it is a bird. Then I'll ask him whether the bird is alive or dead. If he says that it is alive, I will kill it. If he says that it is dead, I shall show him that he is wrong."

So the boys went up to the wise man and the one holding the bird in his hands asked, "The thing I have in my hands, is it is alive or dead?"

"It is a bird." The wise man replied promptly.

"Yes, but is it alive or dead?"

After thinking for a while, the wise man said, "It is as you will it. For if I say it is alive, you will kill it. And if I say it is dead, you shall let it live. I would rather you put the little mewling back to its mother's nest."

The morals of the story?

1. Boys are pathetic. What are they trying to prove?

2. You never know how people are going to respond because until you ask the question, you're just guessing.