One day the Caliph Haroon Al-Rashid was in a pensive mood and Ali, the Persian was called to cheer him up with his stories and anecdotes. Ali asked if he would like a story heard by him or seen by him. The Caliph ordered for any story that was worth telling.
Ali began, “Once when he went out of Baghdad for trading with a lad and a leather bag, when a Kurd snatched the bag claiming it was his. The dispute was brought before the Qazi. When Qazi asked the Kurd to list out what was in the bag, he started mentioning strange things like cats, dogs, palaces, etc.
And Ali also started telling Qazi that palaces, castles, men, women, etc. were in the bag. Both of them told Qazi, the most bizarre things that were supposed to have been kept in the bag, one surpassing the other in the absurdity.
Finally when Ali opened the bag as ordered by the Qazi, there was bread, a lemon and cheese, which he threw in front of the Kurd. The Caliph was pleased with the story and rewarded Ali.
