Once upon a time there lived a boy named Dinak. Every day he went to the forest, chopped wood and thereby earned his living. One day, after working in the forest until noon, he went down to the valley to refresh himself and rest. And suddenly he saw that his bundle, which contained food and some money - meager earnings for several days - had disappeared. The poor fellow sat down on the roadside stone where he had left the bundle and wept bitterly. Passers-by began to ask Dinak what had happened, and he answered that all his money and bread had been stolen. Dinak was very poor, and everyone pitied him. Everyone tried to say a few words of consolation to him, but things didn’t go further than that - no one could really help him.
It so happened that a judge and his guards happened to pass along that road. He also stopped in front of Dinak and asked why he was crying. After listening to the boy, the judge exclaimed:
- I will find the culprit!
He looked around - there was no one nearby. Then, turning to one of the guards, the judge said:
- This stone is to blame for everything. Pick him up and take him to the city. Tomorrow you will bring him to court.
The guard picked up the stone, and the judge ordered Dinak to appear in court the next day.
This extraordinary incident was immediately known throughout the city. People gathered to witness such a strange trial. When everyone took their places, the judge announced:
— This stone is sentenced to three years imprisonment for theft.
After hearing this amazing decision, everyone began to laugh loudly. But the judge, frowning, turned to the crowd and said:
“Everyone standing here showed contempt of court with their laughter.” Each of you must pay a fine of one rupee for this. Let each of you go out the right door and throw a coin into the glass vessel with water.
There was nothing to do, I had to follow the order. Having lined up, people headed towards the exit and, passing by the vessel, threw coins into it.
Finally the last person remained. He was gloomier than a cloud and, dipping his coin into the water, trembled all over with fear. As soon as the coin was immersed in the vessel, greasy spots appeared on the surface of the water. The judge approached the stranger and stopped him:
- You can’t hide the truth! Admit it, were you the one who robbed the poor man?
And the rogue, trembling all over, confessed to theft. Dinak was immediately returned his money.
But the thing was that this money, having got into a bundle with food, became oily, and when the thief threw it into the water, fat appeared on it. And the cunning judge immediately realized who stole the bundle.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru