In a far-off city, a man was passing through the streets when he noticed a donkey stuck in thick mud, struggling to move. Its owner, exhausted and frustrated, had tried everything to free it but to no avail. Seeing the man’s plight, the passerby decided to help. He grabbed the donkey’s tail with all his strength and pulled—only for the donkey’s tail to come right off!
The donkey’s owner let out a furious scream, shouting, “You’re going to pay for this!” Terrified, the man dashed down a nearby alleyway, hoping to escape. But to his dismay, he found himself in a dead-end. With no other choice, he burst into the nearest house.
Inside, a pregnant woman was sitting by a fountain in the courtyard, peacefully washing clothes. Startled by the man’s abrupt entrance and the loud shouts, she was so frightened that she lost her child. Her husband, hearing the noise and seeing the tragedy, joined the donkey’s owner in chasing down the fleeing man.
The man, desperate and out of breath, climbed up onto the house’s roof, hoping to escape. But with no way out, he jumped into another alley, right in front of a doctor’s house. At that moment, a young man was resting his sick father against the wall, waiting for the doctor. The man fell heavily on the elderly father, causing the old man to die instantly. The young son, shocked and heartbroken, joined the others in pursuit.
Still fleeing, the man stumbled into a Jewish passerby and accidentally knocked him down. A sharp piece of wood struck the Jew’s eye, blinding him. Wailing and bleeding, the Jew, too, joined the group chasing the man.
Finally, overwhelmed by the chaos he had unintentionally caused, the man ran to the judge’s house and begged, “Help me! These people are chasing me, and they want my life!” The judge, who was secretly in the company of another man’s wife, saw this as a chance to cover his own tracks and decided to side with the man. He called all the accusers inside to hear their complaints.
The Jew was the first to speak. “This man blinded me in one eye! I demand justice!” The judge, with a sly grin, replied, “Ah, but compensation for a Jew’s injury caused by a Muslim is only half. So, to take one eye from him, you must first agree to lose your other eye as well!” The Jew, realizing the deal would not favor him, reluctantly withdrew his complaint but was fined fifty dinars for his trouble.
Next was the young man who had lost his father. He said, “This man fell upon my sick father from the roof and killed him. I want justice!” The judge considered this and replied, “But your father was ill, was he not? A sick man’s life is worth only half that of a healthy one. To be fair, we should lie this man’s father under the same wall and let you fall on him, claiming only half his life.” Realizing this would not bring him satisfaction, the young man dropped his complaint, though he was fined thirty dinars for his “frivolous” complaint.
Then it was the husband’s turn, whose wife had lost her child from the shock. The man demanded retribution, but the judge, ever clever, said, “Retribution is permissible only when there is no way to compensate for the loss. Since your wife can bear another child, it would be fair to let this man marry her, thereby ‘replacing’ what was lost.” The husband erupted in anger at this absurd suggestion, but the judge dismissed his protests.
At last, the donkey’s owner stood up in frustration and made a run for the door. “Hold on! Your turn is next!” shouted the judge. But as he bolted out, the donkey’s owner yelled back, “I have no complaint anymore! I’m just going to find some real men to help me escape from this ridiculous judge!”
