Bahlool and Teaching the Donkey

A man brought a beautiful donkey as a gift for the ruler of Kufa. The people in the court began praising the donkey, and one of them jokingly said, “I am willing to teach this donkey how to read.” The ruler, angered by this statement, retorted, “Since you say you can teach this donkey to read, you must do so. If you succeed, I will reward you greatly, but if you fail, I will have you executed.” The man, realizing his mistake, regretted his joke and asked for some time. The ruler granted him ten days to complete the task.

The man took the donkey home, bewildered and uncertain about how he could fulfill this impossible task. In his desperation, he went to the marketplace and happened to meet Bahlool, an old acquaintance. He explained the situation to Bahlool, and Bahlool, with a calm smile, reassured him, saying, “Don’t worry, I can help you. Follow my instructions exactly.”

Bahlool told him to starve the donkey for one day. Then, he instructed the man to place grains of barley between the pages of a book and flip through the book in front of the donkey. The hungry donkey would start eating the barley, thinking it was hidden in the pages. Bahlool advised him to repeat this process every day. On the tenth day, the man was to bring the donkey and the book to the ruler, but this time, he was not to place any barley between the pages. Instead, he should just open the book in front of the donkey in the presence of the ruler.

The man followed Bahlool’s instructions, and when the day came, he brought the donkey and the book to the ruler. In front of the ruler and a crowd of onlookers, he placed the book before the donkey. As expected, the hungry donkey began flipping through the pages, expecting to find barley. When it reached the last page and found no barley, it began braying loudly, signaling its hunger. The onlookers and the ruler, unaware of the trick, were convinced that the donkey was actually trying to read the book. They were amazed by what they thought was the donkey’s intellectual achievement.

In the end, the ruler kept his word and rewarded the man with a generous prize, not realizing that the entire situation had been a clever ruse.

This story illustrates Bahlool’s wit and his ability to find a humorous yet effective solution to an impossible challenge.