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a fine animal -- it was a shame to admit it did not belong to him. So the Mulla said, "Yes, it is mine."
Do you want to sell him?" the man asked.
Things were now becoming complicated. "Have you the courage to buy him?" the Mulla asked. The horse was worth a thousand rupees, but Nasruddin was looking for a way out so he asked for two thousand, thinking it was too stiff a price and the man wouldn't pay. But the man agreed. Now the Mulla was in a fix. He could not go back on his word. Then he thought, "What is the harm? I'm making two thousand rupees, and besides, the priest is sleeping."
Just as he pocketed the money and the buyer had left with the horse, the priest came out. The Mulla thought fast. There was no time to run. He quickly tied the rope around his neck and shoved a bit of straw in his mouth.
The priest was frightened. He began to tremble. But he put up a brave front and asked the Mulla, "Where is my horse? And what are you doing here?"
"Your horse and myself are not two," replied the Mulla. "I am your horse."
"What? Are you mad or are you drunk?" demanded the priest.
"Neither," replied the Mulla. "Please hear me out. Twenty years ago I committed adultery. God was angry and he turned me into a horse -- your horse. Now it seems my sentence is over and I have become a man again. My name is Nasruddin."
The priest now was really frightened. Such divine wrath -- a man turns into a horse! He went down on his knees and implored God to forgive him for all his sins. So many sins had he committed, he pleaded for His compassion.
Then he spoke to Nasruddin. "Brother, it is all right. What has happened has happened. I have to go ahead to the next village. You go home, and I will go to the market and buy a new horse."
He went to a horse-dealer, and there he saw his horse. He was beside himself with fear. He went up to the horse and whispered in his ear, "Nasruddin, how come?... And so soon?"
Once the mind starts a lie, they sprout like leaves on a tree. One lie gives rise to four others, and these in turn produce more lies. To save one lie we have to tell a thousand more. Then the number of
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