It happened once upon a time that Mullah Nasruddin lost a donkey. He had relied on the animal for many years, but one day – some say because of old age, and others suggest it was simply a defect of the creature’s miserable character – the donkey died.

The Mullah was inconsolable. He wept, and for many days he went about very gloomy and depressed, obviously under a deep cloud of mourning.

Finally, one day a friend said to Nasruddin, “Mullah, don’t you think you are grieving too much for your donkey? You are showing more emotion than when your wife passed away.”

“Yes,” said Nasruddin, “but when my wife left this world, may she rest in peace, everyone said, ‘Don’t worry, Mullah, we will help you find another one.’ But no one has offered to replace my donkey.”