The Preacher and the Neighbor

One day, the Preacher borrowed his neighbor's ram as a loan, hoping to breed it with his own sheep to increase his herd. A long time passed, and there was no news of the ram's return. The owner grew worried and went to the Preacher's house to ask for his property back.

The Preacher, with a self-righteous face and a scholarly tone, said: "Oh, Brother! Know that the poor beast got lost and wandered out of our control. And since in our holy law, taking compensation is forbidden and considered 'ill-gotten gains,' it is not right for you to ask me for damages. So excuse me, and submit to the will of God."

The poor neighbor bit his tongue in anger and had to leave empty-handed.

A few days later, the neighbor needed to chop some wood, but he didn't have an axe. He decided to go to the Preacher. He knocked on the door and borrowed his axe as a favor. As luck would have it, this time the axe actually did go missing at the neighbor's house. No matter how much they searched, they couldn't find it.

When some time passed and the axe wasn't returned, the Preacher rushed to the neighbor's house and demanded his axe. The neighbor said with shame: "Reverend, that axe you lent me... well, it's lost."

The Preacher immediately said: "No problem! If the item itself is gone, you must pay its value in cold hard cash. For 'Necessity overrides Prohibition'!"

The neighbor shouted in shock: "But Reverend! Didn't you just say yourself that compensation is forbidden? Why the double standard in your judgment?"

The Preacher puffed out his chest, stroked his beard, and recited this fake-religious phrase clearly: "Know this, my man: The Axe is 'Compensation', but the Ram... is just 'Imagination'!"