A Fool Does Not Count the Animal He Is Riding

tales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 1288A
edited by

D. L. Ashliman
© 2002-2013

Contents

  1. The Simpleton with Ten Asses (Turkey).

  2. The Hodja and His Eight Donkeys (Turkey).

  3. Johha Fails to Count the Donkey He Is Riding (Palestine).

  4. Related links.

Return to D. L. Ashliman's folktexts, a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.

The Simpleton with Ten Asses

Turkey

A simpleton, who was a servant, had ten asses which he hired to certain people, and when they came back to their places he took his asses and counted them, and found them to be ten. Then he mounted one of them and rode some distance and came back, and as he was going away he counted those that were before him, and found them to be nine; and he was angry, and alighted and counted them over again, and found them to be ten. And he mounted an ass again, and counted the others and found them to be nine; thereupon he dismounted and counted them, and found them to be ten.

Then he said, "Verily there is a devil with me, for whenever I mount an ass I lose one of them; therefore I must not ride lest I lose one altogether."

Thus he traveled over the whole country on foot, for he dared not mount one of them.

The Hodja and His Eight Donkeys

Turkey

The Hodja had eight donkeys; he mounted one of them. At the end of his ride he counted them, but he saw only seven. He forgot the one he was sitting on. After dismounting he counted eight. This so confused him that he asked a passerby, "Earlier there were only seven, but now there are suddenly eight!"

"The one you were sitting on brought the number to eight."

The Hodja answered, "But how was I to see what I had on my behind?"

Johha Fails to Count the Donkey He Is Riding

Palestine

When Johha grew old enough to work for his living he became a donkey driver. One day, being in charge of twelve donkeys employed to carry earth to the city, it occurred to him, before starting with the laden animals, to count them. Finding the tale [tally] complete, he took them to their destination and unloaded them.

He then mounted one of them, and was going to return when he found one donkey missing. At once dismounting, he put them all in a row, and was astonished and greatly relieved to find the twelve there. He thereupon remounted and set off again, wondering as he rode along how it was that he had missed one donkey. Suddenly the suspicion flashed upon him that possibly the second count had been faulty, so he counted again, to find once more that only eleven were racing along in front of him. Terribly disconcerted, he again got down off the creature he was riding and, stopping the others, once more counted them. He was puzzled to find that there were again twelve.

So absorbed was he by this mystery, that he went on counting and recounting the donkeys till his master, surprised at his long absence, came and solved his difficulty by obliging him to follow his asses on foot.

Related links

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Return to D. L. Ashliman's folktexts, a library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology.

Revised March 22, 2013.