It is told that in one of the times, there was a simple peasant man whom God Almighty had blessed with the talent of understanding the language of animals. This simple, intelligent peasant named Hamdan was about to buy a donkey to help him in work and fulfill his needs. Hamdan remembered while going to the market to buy one that his neighbor was selling a donkey. He went to him to buy it. Indeed, the generous neighbor welcomed him and sold it to him at a price that pleases God without being unjust to his right.
Hamdan took the donkey and placed it in the stable with the bull that worked for him. One day, Hamdan went to the stable to feed the animals. He heard the bull speaking to the donkey, saying to him: Every day we see you have been bathed and cleaned, and you are not like us even in food and drink. You consume tons of barley daily, and roam wherever you wish here and there without anyone striking you with a whip, and you do not walk with your owner except short distances. I truly envy your good fortune, my friend, while my fortune is bad and bitter, and I am about to perish from extreme fatigue, and you are about to die from extreme rest.
The donkey laughed proudly at his friend the bull’s talk, while the bull completed his speech, saying: As for me, I go out every morning to the field, I keep turning until I plow the land for my owner. While I am like this, they put ropes around my neck, and they strike me if I stumble in the mud. I remain in this state until sunset. Then I bid farewell to the sun and bid farewell to my owner Hamdan’s land, and return to the stable to eat my food and drink. I find you, oh donkey, clean, eating what is delicious without any effort.
The donkey was affected by his friend the bull’s words and stopped laughing, then whispered to him and said: I will tell you, my friend, about things to do, and you will live like a king, not working or tiring and suffering, eating barley like me and resting. The bull rejoiced and asked him: You are the best friend. The donkey answered: Lower your voice and listen to me well. You must, tomorrow, when they come to put ropes around your neck, lie on the ground, extend your tongue out of your mouth, and feign illness. If they strike you to get up, you get up and take one step and stumble on the other, and feign illness and exhaustion until they think you are actually sick.
They will come to you with a doctor and prescribe rest and relaxation for you. You sleep and do not eat the food they bring to you, until they are confused about your condition, and they bring you food that has no equal, and you enjoy fat fava beans so that your health returns to you again. Continue in this state for a day or two until your condition changes.
The bull laughed a lot and said to his friend: Well done, my friend the donkey. Now I can do that for a month or two. Both laughed, not realizing that Master Hamdan had learned of their plan and was thinking of teaching them a useful lesson.
In the morning of the next day, the rays of the sun spread here and there. Master Hamdan got up and kept pulling the bull to the field. The latter had begun implementing his trick. Hamdan returned him to the stable and rested him a lot, placed delicious food and drink for him, then said in a loud voice: Since the poor bull is sick, let us take the donkey then to work in the field instead of him until the sick poor one recovers. The donkey’s face turned yellow, and he felt his soul was about to depart from the surprise and was extremely angry at what he heard, while the bull continued his trick and fell to the ground in complete silence.
The donkey went to the field and worked all day until fatigue reached its limit. He began kicking with his feet toward the bull who had eaten, drunk, and slept his fill. The donkey came to him and told him that he had heard Hamdan speaking to his neighbors and saying to them that he would slaughter the bull instead of giving him food and drink without benefit while he is sick and not working. The bull got up extremely terrified and began to moo loudly, until his owner knew his health had returned to him, and he began praising God for the blessing of health and wellness.