The Master's Trusted Servant
This is a story
About a man, a trusted servant
Of a certain master,
Whom the master loved as himself.
One time,
The master went away,
Leaving his business in the hands of his substitute,
A man who hated the servant.
What did he do?
He took the servant
And whipped him five lashes
In public for all to see,
To degrade him and humiliate him.
When the master returned,
The servant approached him
And told him what had happened.
The master was infuriated.
He called for his substitute
And ordered him to immediately give the servant
One thousand coins for each whipping.
The servant took the money and returned to his home.
His wife found him weeping,
Anxiously she said:
"What happened between you and the master?"
He told her.
She asked, "So why are you crying?"
He replied, "I am crying because
He whipped me only five lashes.
I wish he had whipped me
At least ten lashes,
Since now I would have
Ten thousand coins."
