It happened once upon a time that Mullah Nasruddin had saved up a few coins, and decided to buy a donkey. He went to the market, studied the animals there, bought one that looked promising, and tying a rope around its neck, began to lead it home.
As he went, the Mullah was thinking deeply about all the benefits he would derive from his new donkey, plowing here, carrying there and so on, and being so lost in thought he caught the attention of two men, the sort of lazy, dishonest fellows that always seem to collect at the edges of a market. Thinking to take advantage of the Mullah’s distraction, they came up quietly behind him, untied the donkey, and then one of them tied the rope around his own neck, while the other led the donkey away.
When Nasruddin reached his home, he was astonished to discover that he was leading not a donkey but a shifty looking ruffian. “Who are you?” he demanded.
“Oh, God be praised,” said the man, falling to his knees and kissing Nasruddin’s hands. “You have saved me, master, from a terrible punishment. Know that once, for saying a wickedly bad word to my dear mother, I was turned into a beast. And it is only by coming into your saintly care that I have been restored to my human form. May God\’s mercy be praised!” And he held Nasruddin’s hands to his eyes and managed to weep a few tears (always a useful skill for such a person).
The Mullah was rather touched, and a little bit impressed with himself that he had been able to help someone in such a predicament, and he immediately untied the rope, gave the man some pious advice about now living a life of virtue, and sent the ruffian on his way.
The next day, though, he began to think again about the benefits of having a donkey, and so he found a few more coins from somewhere, and went back to the market. Studying the donkeys for sale, to his surprise he spotted there the same animal he had bought the day before.
“Now look,” said the Mullah, wagging his finger in front of the donkey’s nose, “you are obviously a hopeless case. Can’t you learn from your mistakes? And don’t expect me to save you again, I can’t afford it.”