swallowing a date whole

In the past, someone said:“The pear is good for the teeth, but bad for the spleen; the date is good for the spleen,but bad for the teeth.”

A young man heard this, thought it over for a long time and said:“Then, when I eat a pear, I’ll keep it in my mouth and chew it with my teeth, but won’tswallow it,so it will not do any harm to my spleen.When I eat a date, I won’t chew it, but will swallow it whole, so it will not do any harm tomy teeth.”

When people heard this, they jeered at him:“You are swallowing a date whole!”