An impossible command can be satisfied by moving in dappled light.

Evidence

In one famous tale, the king, weary of being bested, set Sri Thanonchai a trap. ‘I command you,’ said the king, ‘to take this royal letter and deliver it by walking neither in the sunlight nor in the shade.’ It seemed impossible — outdoors one is always in sun or shadow. But Sri Thanonchai simply took a large woven basket-tray, full of holes, and held it over his head as he walked, so that he moved in neither full sun nor full shade but in a dapple of both at once, and delivered the letter, defeating the king’s clever command. — , A Year of World Stories, 13307

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A trickster can obey a command’s letter while evading its intent — , A Year of World Stories, 9116; Perfect inspector invisibility is physically impossible because light is required for work — Jeremy Bentham, The Panopticon Writings, 294

Related

• A trickster can obey a command’s letter while evading its intent (similarity 0.79)