One day the Mullah, an important¹ man in the village, found² his donkey³ was gone when he wanted to go visit a friend. He was very angry and ran⁴ around to look for his donkey.

The Mullah ran about looking until⁶ he was too tired. He sat⁷ down to rest at his gate. A few friends came⁸ to join him.

"That no-good lazy⁹ donkey!" said¹⁰ he. "If I ever¹¹ see her again, I'll sell her for a dollar!" Selling a donkey for a dollar was just a joke¹².

Just then the Mullah heard the sound of his donkey's feet. He looked around. There was his donkey. On her back rode¹³ a boy.

"Where did¹⁴ you find her?" asked the Mullah. "We couldn't find her anywhere¹⁵."

"I knew where I would¹⁶ go if I were a donkey," said the boy. "I found her eating grass with the sheep and goats¹⁷."

Suddenly¹⁸, the Mullah looked to one side¹⁹ and saw²⁰ one of his friends holding up a dollar. On the other side he saw another with a dollar.

"I'll buy your donkey, " said the two.

"I was joking²¹!" said the Mullah.

"You didn't sound as if you were joking, " said the two.

The Mullah couldn't break his word. That would be wrong for an important person²² in the village. He certainly²³ didn't want to sell his donkey for a dollar. So he said, "Meet me at the donkey fair²⁴ on Saturday. I shall²⁵ sell her at that time. I shall sell my donkey to the one who will treat²⁶ her most kindly²⁷."

Everybody²⁸ was kind to animals in the village. So the Mullah thought²⁹ out a plan³¹. He wanted to keep his word and also to keep his donkey.

On the night before the donkey fair, the Mullah bought a piece of rope. No one had³² any idea why the Mullah should want a piece of rope.

On Saturday, man and boy in the village came to the donkey fair.

They found a cat tied with a piece of rope to the tail of the Mullah's donkey! Beside them stood³³ the Mullah, who looked happy.

"It is true³⁴, I'll sell my donkey for a dollar," said the Mullah. "Just one thing, though³⁰. My donkey and my cat are very good friends. They must not be parted³⁵. The kind man who buys my donkey must buy my cat also."

"How much is your cat?" asked many voices³⁶.

"Oh, my cat is a very important animal," said the Mullah. "Her father caught a mouse for a king⁵. Her mother caght a mouse for the Queen³⁷. She is one of the finest of cats. For such³⁸ a great cat I want one hundred dollars."

The men laughed, and gave³⁹ up the idea of owning⁴⁰ the donkey.

一天，村里的头面人物毛拉，发现他的驴子丢失了。他本想骑驴去拜访朋友。他很生气，到处奔着寻找那头驴。

毛拉四面八方寻找了一通，直到太累才歇息。他坐在门口休息。几位朋友也过来和他坐在一起。

“那头不中用的懒驴！”他说。“要是我重新见到她，愿一块钱将她卖掉！”一块钱卖掉他的驴，仅是说来玩的。

就在那时，毛拉听到驴子的蹄声。他的驴子出现了，由一个男孩骑着过来。

“你在哪里找到她的？”毛拉问。“我们到处都没有找到。”

“要是我是驴，我晓得应该上哪儿去，”男孩说。“我看见她时，他正在跟山羊、绵羊一起吃草呢。”

突然，毛拉侧过脸，看见他的一位朋友伸出握着一块钱的手；朝另一侧一看，又有一人递过来一块钱。

“我想要买你的驴子，”两人异口同声说。

“我刚才是说着玩的！”毛拉说。

“你听上去不像是说着玩的，”两人说。

毛拉不能食言。村里的要人不能这样做。但他当然不愿一块钱出售驴子。于是他说，“我们星期六在驴市场会面。那时候我将驴子卖给你们。我将把她卖给待她最仁慈的人。”

村子里人人对动物都很仁慈。因此毛拉想出一个计谋，他既要守信，又要守住自己的驴子。

在驴市场举行前夕，毛拉买了一根绳子。没人知道毛拉要绳子干什么。

星期六，村里的男人和男孩都来到驴市场。人们发现，有一只猫被用绳子拴在毛拉的驴子的尾巴上！边上站着乐哈哈的毛拉。

“的确，我将以一块钱出售驴子，”毛拉说。“然而得有一椿条件。我的驴和我的猫是好朋友，他们不得分离。哪位仁慈心肠的人要买我的驴，也必须买我的猫。”

“你的猫要卖多少钱？”七嘴八舌在问。

“哦，我的猫可是头非常显赫的动物，”毛拉说。“她父亲曾经替国王逮住一只老鼠。她母亲替王后逮过一只老鼠。她是猫中最姣好的。这只猫我要价一百块。”

人们都笑了，也放弃了得到那头驴的想法。