Story The Smart Boy: adaptation of the Iranian folk tale.
Once, in some place in Iran whose name is not remembered, a miller was walking slowly with his donkey towards his mill.
The animal carried two large saddlebags full of wheat on its back. The road was long and difficult, so the man decided to stop at an inn to regain his strength. He left the donkey tied by the door and entered. He asked for some food, drank fresh water, and when he left to continue his journey, the donkey was not there.
She looked everywhere for him but he seemed to have vanished. As she looked out the back, next to the drinking water well, she encountered a young man passing by. Desperate, she approached him.
– Hey, you!… Have you seen my donkey around here? I’ve been looking for it for a while and it doesn’t appear anywhere.
The boy looked him in the eyes and did not hesitate to answer.
– Is it a donkey that is blind in the left eye, lame in the right leg and is loaded with sacks of wheat?
The man raised his hands and jumped for joy. His face was red and he looked like he was about to explode from so much accumulated tension.
– Yes Yes! That is! Thank goodness you found it! Where is my donkey?
– I’m sorry sir, I’m sorry to tell you that I haven’t seen your donkey – said the boy with a look of circumstance.
– What?… Are you taking me for an idiot? – the miller got angry – Well, you’re going to find out! Right now we are going to tell all this to the mayor and he will do justice. He will give you a severe punishment for being a liar!
The man, who was tall and strong, grabbed the weak boy by the ear and dragged him to the wisest and fairest man in the city. He told him the story of the donkey and after listening carefully to all the details, the mayor addressed the boy.
– Let’s see… Let’s be sensible. If you haven’t seen this man’s donkey, how do you know exactly what he looked like?
The young man explained himself clearly.
– I was next to the road where the donkey passed. I noticed that the print on his right paw was shallower than the print on his left paw, so I deduced that the donkey was limping on that foot. I also saw that there was less grass on the right side of the road and that made me think that he was blind in his left eye and that he had eaten the grass only on the side he could see. Next to the donkey’s footprints there were also grains of wheat and logically I imagined that they had fallen out of the saddlebags while walking.
The two listeners were amazed. They had never seen such an intelligent and brilliant young man. The miller had to apologize and left the room ashamed and ready to continue looking for his donkey. The mayor congratulated him and wished him a good future.
– I have been pleasantly surprised by your ability to think – he said smiling and giving him a loving pinch on the nose – Who knows!… Maybe you will be the next mayor!
The young man burst out laughing and went back the way he had come.