33 lines
1.9 KiB
Plaintext
33 lines
1.9 KiB
Plaintext
AMIN AND THE EGCS
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Once upon a time . . . a peasant called Amin lost all his crops from his
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miserable little plot in a drought. He decided to seek his fortune in another
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village, and off he went on his donkey. On credit, he obtained a dozen
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hard-boiled eggs from a merchant for his journey.
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Seven years later, Amin returned to his village. This time he was riding a
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fine black horse, followed by a servant on a camel laden with gold and silver
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coins. Amin had become a rich man and the news of this soon spread through the
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village. Straight away, the merchant who had given him the dozen eggs on
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credit knocked at Amin's door, asking for five hundred silver pieces in
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payment of the old debt. Amin of course refused to pay such a large sum and
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the matter was taken before the judge.
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On the day of the hearing, the merchant appeared in court at the appointed
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time, but of Amin there was no sign. The judge waited impatiently for a
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quarter of an hour, and was on the point of adjourning the hearing, when Amin
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dashed in, out of breath. At once, the merchant said, in defence of his
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demands:
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"I asked Amin for payment of five hundred silver coins, because twelve
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chickens might have hatched from the eggs he bought from me on credit,
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seven years ago. These chickens would have become hens and cockerels; more
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eggs would have been laid, these too would have hatched, and so on. After
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seven years, I might have had a great flock of fowls!"
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"Of course," agreed the judge. "Perfectly right." And turning to Amin with
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a hostile air, he ordered: "What have you to say for yourself? And, by the
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way, why are you late?" Amin did not turn a halr.
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"I had a plate of boiled beans in the house and I planted them in the
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garden to have a good crop next year!"
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"Fool!" exclaimed the judge. "Since when do boiled beans grow?" To which
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Amin promptly retorted:
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"And since when do boiled eggs hatch into chickens?"
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He had won his case.
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