The eight donkeys

Sri Chinmoy: Now I will tell you a story about a man who had seven donkeys. You have to tell me whether the man was intelligent or stupid.

One day this man happened to be sitting on one of the donkeys in a field, and the other donkeys were nearby. It was getting dark and soon he would have to go home. So he looked around and started counting the donkeys. Every time he counted he got only six donkeys.

An old man was passing by, and he said to the old man, “Please, please tell me where my seventh donkey has gone. I brought seven donkeys here, but now I see only six. I am missing one. Can you tell me where the seventh donkey is?”

The old man said, “You fool! You say that you have only six donkeys here, but I am seeing eight!”

The other man said, “Eight? O my God! Please, please tell me where the eight donkeys are! Every time I count I get only six. But this morning I know I brought seven.”

Now, one by one, you tell me, where were the eight donkeys?

K: He was so dumb that the man was calling him a donkey.

[Most of the children agree with this answer.]