The head of Sheikh’s village once got Sheikh a job with a Nawab. Sheikh’s duty was to follow the young Nawab wherever he went. Once, Sheikh followed the junior Nawab’s horse when they went to the market and came back home. At home, the junior Nawab could not find his expensive diamond-studded dagger. Sheikh was asked if he knew about its disappearance. Sheikh said he had seen the dagger falling down from the junior Nawab’s waist in the market. The shocked Nawab asked Sheikh why he didn’t pick it up. Sheikh announced that he wasn’t told to do so. The Nawab then told Sheikh to pick up anything that fell down whenever he accompanied the junior Nawab. Next day, Sheikh returned from their trip with something bulky in his shawl. It was stinking, so he was ordered to show what filthy thing he was carrying. It was horse droppings! “You told me to pick up anything that dropped,” he told the amused people. Sheikh, as usual, wondered why they were laughing.
Obedient Sheikh
