There lived, many years ago, in the city of Azimgurh in the northwest of India [or possibly in present-day Pakistan], a Muslim priest, or mullah, who, as is usual with that class, added to his income by teaching the Muslim youths of the place.
By chance an old washerman, or dhobi, and his wife while traveling homewards came to the city and put up under a tree adjoining the mosque where the mullah lived and tied their ass to the tree. The old couple were rich, but were unfortunately childless.
Some time during the day of their arrival they caught a glimpse of a man who was gesticulating before the mullah in a tone of violent complaint, and they could not help hearing all that he said.
"You are the mullah," he called out, "and I have paid you all the fees you asked, but you have taught my son nothing at all, and every day he is either idling or playing about in the dusty roads with other worthless urchins."
Upon this the mullah became greatly enraged, and retorted, "Not taught him anything! It is false. He has been educated like the rest. Yah Yah ka kulma partraya. Gudhê sê admi bunaya." Which means, "I have taught him the creed of Yah Yah, or of the righteous ones, and though he came to me an ass, I have made him into a man. You ungrateful wretch! I will have nothing further to say to him, and you may take him out of the school."
Upon this the man left the mullah and went away down the road.
The ignorant old washerman and his equally old and ignorant wife, having been silent listeners of all this conversation, put their heads together and began to talk of what they had heard.
The washerman said to his wife, "Did you not hear the mullah say that he had changed an ass into a man, and you know mullahs can do wonderful things! I am just thinking that if he could work a change in our ass and make out of him a son for us, what a blessing it would be! For we have only this one thing short of being completely happy."
The old wife eagerly caught at the idea and replied, "Yes! Allah has given us much wealth, but what good will it be to us when we die? Strangers will get it. But if we had a son he would inherit it, and our cup of joy on earth would be full to the brim. Let us go to the mullah and make a bargain with him, that the curse of having no son may no longer rest upon us."
Whereupon they both sought an audience of the mullah, and approaching him, said, "Oh sir, we are both very old, as you see, but we have plenty of money. But sir, saddest of all things to tell you is that we are childless. Now sir, we overheard you say that you had transformed an ass into a man. We have an ass, but we have not a son. Would you be so good as to change him for us, and we will give you any sum that you like to name."
The mullah was struck all of a heap with surprise and astonishment at this preposterous request. He said nothing for some minutes, but simply stared at the aged old couple while he collected his thoughts.
"These people must clearly have heard me speaking angrily to the father of the worthless scholar and have taken my words altogether in a literal sense, but here is evidently a run of luck for me which must not be thrown away."
Thus he soliloquized, and the old couplet fixed itself in his thoughts:
Gân kê pooreh-get muth ki heenay
Khuda tujhê deta-mai leta keunnahin.
Translation:
These are rich in purse but weak in intellect.
Allah gives you the chance, why should you not take it?
Then after this little pause he turned to them and said, "I have been considering what is best to be done for you. To comply with your request is indeed a difficult task, though not impossible. If you will tie your ass to that tree and come to me a year hence, you shall have a son, for it will take all that time to make so complete a transformation. Give me now therefore one thousand rupees, and go back to your home, and be sure you return to me punctually in a year's time."
The old people were only too pleased to close with the mullah, so they paid him the money, tied the ass to the tree, wished him a hearty farewell, and went on their journey homewards.
When a year had elapsed the old washerman and his wife, with their hearts bounding with delight at the prospect of welcoming a son and heir, started on their travels again to meet the mullah, and in due time arrived at the mosque.
"We have come, sir," they said, "according to promise, to claim our son."
The mullah replied, "You are indeed a couple of old fools. If you had been true to your time and had come a week ago you would have seen him. But now, owing to his great learning, he has been appointed the kazi (doctor of Islamic law) at Jaunpur [in northeast India]."
The mullah had hit upon this ruse, and had determined to play off a joke on this kazi, of whom he was extremely jealous.
"But," replied the old couple, getting alarmed, "how is it possible that he will recognize us unless you accompany us?"
"Don't distress yourselves. I cannot go, but if you will take this rope with which you always tethered your ass, and the tobrâ or nosebag in which the ass had his grain, and go to Jaunpur all your difficulties will vanish. Time your arrival in the city on a Friday at the hour of prayer in the mosque. You will see a large concourse of people being addressed by your son, who was, you know, your ass. Put yourselves in a position where the kazi can plainly see you, then keep shaking the rope and the nosebag, and he will soon discover who you are and come and claim you as his father and mother."
So off they went to the city of Jaunpur, reached it on a Friday, and went straight to the mosque, placed themselves in a conspicuous part of the outer building within sight of the kazi and began, with a vengeance, to whisk before him the nosebag and the rope.
In a very short time the kazi noticed this strange proceeding and sent one of the congregation to find out the cause, but they told him to tell the kazi that they had a profound secret which could only be told to the kazi himself and to no other mortal.
The kazi, impelled by curiosity, asked permission of his audience for a few moments of leave, and then taking the old coup0le aside, he begged of them to tell him the reason of their strange behavior. With bated breath and with the deepest earnestness did the old washerman and his wife pour into the kazi's ears the whole of the strange story of his having once been their ass: how for years they had overloaded him with kindness and never spared the cudgel when he had been obstinate; how they deeply regretted their conduct towards one now so exalted as they saw their son to be; how, but for the wonderful power of the Mullah of Azimgurh such a blessing would never have come to them; and how their cup of happiness was now complete.
The kazi at once took the situation and saw the plot that his arch enemy had so cleverly planned against him, and being a wise man he thought to himself, "If I repudiate this absurd story, in the belief of which these ignorant people have bound up their lives, it will be sure to be published abroad, to my own annoyance, and from being respected I shall be mocked and turned into ridicule, and in fact be the laughingstock of the place. I am resolved what to do. I will quietly acquiesce in what they say, and so get rid of them."
Turning to the old couple he said, "Yes, it is all too true. And form henceforth your interests are my interest, your good name is identical with mine, and I will carry it on. But let me bind you by all that you hold sacred that you never breathe a word of this marvelous change that has taken place in my being and existence. If you never reveal this secret, I will be a dutiful son to you all my life."
This the old washerman and his wife agreed to abide by in every iota, only stipulating that when they died, which in the course of nature was not far off, he would be present to see them interred according to Islamic rites. This the kazi on his part faithfully promised to do, and the old couple took their departure to their own home with every expression of joy and delight, and left all their money to him when they died.
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Revised January 19, 2002.