In a large city in the lands of India, it is recounted that a man named Sanjam worked in washing, cleaning, and dyeing clothes. The front of his shop was always filled with clean, colorful clothes that he would hang beautifully. He was energetic in his work and never failed a single appointment with his customers.
The Potter Hilāl:
Working near him was the potter Hilāl, who made jars of clay. But he was lazy and greedy in his selling, so he did not have many customers like his neighbor Sanjam. The potter Hilāl envied his neighbor Sanjam for his work and said to himself: “I will do an evil turn to my neighbor!”
The Sultan’s Procession:
One day, the sultan went out of the market, and with him a procession of notables and nobles. He was riding a white elephant adorned with embroidered, colorful clothes—the one whose color Sanjam had applied. The merchants of the market all stood before their shops welcoming the sultan. Similarly, Sanjam and his neighbor Hilāl stood.
The Evil Scheme:
The potter Hilāl thought of a wicked idea. He approached the sultan’s elephant and said: “May God prolong the sultan’s life. I have a great idea, O my master.” The sultan said: “And what is your idea, O man?” He said: “I see that the sultan should ride an elephant that does not resemble the rest of the elephants.” The sultan said: “And is there an elephant like this, O man?” The potter said: “There is no white elephant in our land. Why does my master not ride one like him!”
The idea pleased the sultan, and he said: “And how do we change the color of the elephant?” Hilāl rejoiced when he heard this question and answered confidently: “The matter is simple, O my master. My neighbor Sanjam can do it. Look, look, O my master. He is standing here beside me.”
The Ruse:
Sanjam heard Hilāl’s idea and knew he was plotting a ruse against him. He began to think quickly how to escape from this scheme. While he was thinking about that, he heard the sultan’s voice saying: “I want you to change the elephant’s color. I want a white-colored elephant that no one possesses.” Sanjam feared the sultan, but composed himself when an idea occurred to him!
Sanjam said to the sultan: “It pleases me, O sultan, to serve you. This is an easy matter, but I need only one thing.” The sultan rejoiced at this speech and said to him: “Request what you wish, and I will execute all your requests.” Sanjam said: “I need a very large vessel of clay to place the elephant inside, so that I may dye it completely, as I do with the clothes.”
Returning the Ruse upon Its Maker:
The sultan said: “Very good. Who can make this vessel?” Sanjam looked at his neighbor Hilāl, then said: “There is only my neighbor the potter Hilāl. He is the most skillful of the potters.” Hilāl felt that the scheme had turned against him, and he had no choice but to comply out of fear of the sultan’s anger. Hilāl said: “Yes, O my master, I will make the vessel you requested.”
Making the Vessel and the Calamity:
The next day came. Hilāl sent workers to bring from the mountain what he needed to make the large clay vessel. He began to make a very large vessel and finished it after three months, then gave it to his neighbor Sanjam, who ordered the workers to carry the elephant and place him inside it after it was filled with water and soap. As soon as the elephant stood inside it, it broke!
The Potter and the Sultan:
The waters flowed from the vessel. Hilāl said: “My vessel, my vessel! My vessel has broken!” His neighbor Sanjam answered him, saying: “It was necessary for you to make a larger and stronger vessel, O my dear neighbor.” When the sultan learned of that, he ordered the potter Hilāl to make another vessel. Thus the months passed. Whenever he made a vessel and the elephant stood inside it, it broke, until the potter lost all his wealth. The potter went quickly to the sultan, requested a meeting with him, and said to him: “Forgive me, O my lord the sultan. My idea that I advised you was evil. I should not have thought of dyeing the elephant and changing his color.” The sultan thought a little, then asked the potter: “Very good. Then why did you advise me to change his color? Tell me, otherwise!”
The potter feared the sultan’s punishment and said to him while trembling: “Forgive me. I will reveal the causes to you, O my master, but I request safety first.” The sultan said: “No harm. Tell what you have.” The potter said: “I envy my neighbor, O my master, because he is successful in his work, and I loved to take revenge upon his success with that scheme.”
Anger and Forgiveness:
The sultan became angry and said: “God has certainly caused you to fall into the evil of your deeds.” Then the sultan summoned our friend Sanjam and explained the story to him, saying: “This potter neighbor of yours wished to do a ruse against you. What should I do with him?” Sanjam looked at his neighbor the potter who was standing humbly before the sultan, then said: “I request forgiveness and pardon for him, O my master.” The sultan was amazed at Sanjam’s decision and forgave the potter, who became a friend to Sanjam after he became extremely diligent.