A Gift from Tamerlane

To celebrate his birthday, 'Tamerlane' presented each of his courtiers with a large box. As the advisers and nobility opened their presents, they found robes stitched with golden thread and set with precious gems. But when 'Nasrudin', who had recently fallen from royal favor, unwrapped his gift he found an old donkey blanket inside.

‘Merciful Allah,’ he cried, ‘witness the generosity of Tamerlane', who has honored his servant with the coat off his own back.’