In very ancient times, one elderly shepherd has an old and mellow donkey. The shepherd loved his donkey and never missed a chance to brag about him:
- My donkey, let Allah prolong its days, much smarter than the viziers of our sultan, - he said in all coffee shops.
Once the shepherd’s word reached the royal ears.
- How you dare, naked shepherd, to compare your bald donkey with my favorite viziers?! - Shouted in anger Sultan. - Immediately bring me that cheeky wicked!
The guards immediately tracked down the old man and took him before the menacing eyes of the ruler.
- Well, - said the Sultan, - answer me directly, how you dare, a small worm, to humiliate my viziers with such blasphemous similes?
The shepherd, didn’t not embarrassed at all. He looked into the eyes of the Sultan and said:
- Oh, the wisest of the wise, the lord of lords, the Shah of Shahs. I'm not talking in vain, my donkey, the hour of its birth be blessed, smarter than your favorite viziers. Believe me, my mouth says so almost Allah himself. One day I was driving on this donkey across the bridge, which has no small holes and cracks. No matter how careful my donkey was, it put one foot in the hole and hurt its knee. Since then, no matter how much I had to pass through the bridge, my wise donkey, let it be blessed by a prophet, would not like to pass over that bridge with a hole. The prudent donkey was bypassing the hole, remembering what had happened to it.
Tell me now, the king of kings. Are your viziers so prudent and do the same?! I have been living in the world and have seen with my own eyes, how many of them you hanged for too apparent theft, treachery and bribery.
And none of them ever wanted to take into account the experience of their predecessors and make sure that the abuse is not conspicuous. No matter how wide the bridge of your institutionalized atrocities, but still your viziers couldn't get found its narrow slits issued for the type of laws. How could you, now I ask you, compare my wise donkey with these fools?!
There was nothing left to do to Padishah, but to agree with the shepherd’s arguments. He awarded him with blanket for his donkey and let him go unscathed from the palace.