One day, Mulla Nasruddin’s beloved donkey passed away. The grief-stricken Mulla decided to make a grave for it and give it a formal burial. As he cried, a man asked, “Who is buried there?” Embarrassed to admit it was his donkey, he replied, “A great sheikh. He appeared to me in a dream and told me that no one visited his grave. So I came here to honour him.” Soon, the news of the sheikh spread. A week later, Mulla noticed a large gathering of people, and an altar built on his donkey’s gravesite. “What’s going on here?” he asked someone. “A great sheikh was buried here and we are all honouring him.” “This is my donkey’s grave!” cried Mulla. The angry people took him to the religious official. He ordered his assistants to punish Mulla. As he walked home, Mulla thought, ‘Wow, my donkey was so great that the people made him a sheikh!’
Mulla’s Donkey, a Great Sheik
