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Short Stories (Stories for the Youth), book by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

118- The Two Donkeys of the Bishop

 

St-Takla.org Image: Two donkeys. صورة في موقع الأنبا تكلا: حماران.

Some Arians thought to play a trick on an elderly bishop who was known for his holiness and strong arguments. They were afraid he would go to the Nicene council and argue against Arius. The Arians knew that the bishop and his disciple would take two donkeys; therefore, they followed them. At the end of the day, the bishop along with his disciple decided to spend the night in a hotel and then resume their trip the next day. They checked in and left the two donkeys in the stable adjacent to the hotel. At midnight, the Arians came and slaughtered the two donkeys to make sure that the bishop and his disciple would not be able to travel to Nicaea . Early in the morning, the disciple went to the stable. To his surprise, he found out that the two donkeys were completely slaughtered. He returned to the bishop panicking. The bishop asked him, “Why are you panicking my son?”

“They slaughtered the two donkeys and we don’t have money to buy other ones.”

“Don’t worry son. God always has solutions for our problems.”

“What do you mean father?”

“God, who wants us to attend the council, will provide means for our travel.”

They both went to the stable using a lantern since it was still dark. The bishop asked his disciple to bring one of the heads nearer to the body. The bishop prayed to God saying, “You know that we don’t have money to buy two donkeys. If You want us to go to the council, bring back the donkey to life.”

Soon, the first donkey began moving and the other as well. The bishop and his disciple resumed their trip to Nicaea when the Arians had already arrived there. When the bishop and his disciple reached Nicaea, every body was looking at them bewildered.

The Bishop asked, “What’s wrong. Why are you looking at us like that?”

They pointed out that the black donkey has a white head and vice versa. At that point the bishop realized that his disciple made a mistake in putting the right head on the right donkey. Therefore, the bishop had to tell them what happened.

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: حمارا الأسقف.

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