The Codeless Code: Case 71 The Six Unwelcome Hosts 
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 A young nun—a novice—said to master Kaimu, “I have heard
tell of the Six Unwelcome Hosts, but my eyes have not yet
been opened.”

The master hooked a myna-bird’s cage onto the top of a long
staff and gave that to the novice. Next he wrote something
on a slip of paper, blew on it until the ink was dry, and
gave this to the novice also, saying: “On the scroll are the
names of five houses in the village. When night falls, fetch
your empty bowl and beg rice from each house in turn. Take
the bird with you.  Consider what you see and hear.”

When the novice came to the first house and presented her
bowl, the man filled it with white grains and closed his
door. The myna-bird sang: “No rice, no radish, no morsel
within; you’d be wise to eat with your fingers.” Poking at
the grains, the novice discovered to her horror that they
were not rice at all, but small white maggots. She dumped
them on the grass and washed the bowl in a nearby stream
until her fingers were numb with cold.

When the novice came to the second house and presented her
bowl, the man there said “I have no rice” and closed his
door. The myna-bird sang: “No rice, no radish, no morsel
within; his mice have perished from want.”

When the novice came to the third house and presented her
bowl, the man there said “No rice,” lit a lantern and closed
his door. The myna-bird sang: “See the red banner under the
lantern; that bastard has plenty of rice, but will not feed
a stranger.”

When the novice came to the fourth house and presented her
bowl, the man there threw it into the bushes and closed his
door. The myna-bird sang: “You might have caught it if you’d
tried, but still you would leave hungry.”

When the novice came to the fifth house and presented her
bowl, the man placed it upside-down upon the stone
threshold, ground it to splinters beneath his heel and
slammed his door in anger. The myna-bird was silent.

Returning to master Kaimu, the novice said, “My eyes have
been opened to five Unwelcome Hosts.”

“Name them,” commanded the master.

“Bug, failure-value, flag, exception, exit,” replied the
novice.

The master nodded.

“But what of the sixth?” asked the novice.

The master said, “Take an empty bowl to the grave of master
Mugen. When the dead master either fills it or turns you
away, the Sixth Unwelcome Host will have come and gone.”