Once upon a time, in a distant city, there lived a student named Juan. Juan was so poor that he didn’t have a single penny in his pocket; however, he possessed a God-given ingenuity that allowed him to slip out of even the toughest situations. Although he was buried in debt, he was a good man at heart—he simply lacked the means to pay.
One day, Juan gathered his equally impoverished student friends and said, “My friends, Fate intends to keep me poor, but I am determined to become rich. If you come with me, I will give you a prize that will fetch a good price at the market.”
His friends agreed, and they headed to the main road outside the city. Soon, the jingling of bells was heard from afar. A muleteer, who had sold all his wares and was in high spirits, approached while dozing off atop the lead mule.
Juan set his sights on the last mule in the line. He quietly undid the animal’s saddle and harness, releasing the mule by the roadside. Then, he slipped the saddle onto his own back and put the halter around his neck! His friends seized the freed mule and hurried off toward the market.
For a while, Juan walked along as if being led by the halter. Then, he suddenly began to pull back and behave stubbornly. When the bells clattered loudly, the muleteer woke up and dismounted. To his utter astonishment, in place of his mule stood a human being with a saddle on his back!
“What kind of joke is this? Where is my mule, and who are you?” the man shouted.
Juan bowed his head and replied in a sorrowful voice, “Oh master, this is no joke, but a bitter reality. I actually come from a noble family. Because of the sins I committed in my youth, I was punished and transformed into a mule. Just this moment, my sentence ended, and I have returned to my human form.”
The muleteer stood frozen in shock. “You mean I’ve been kicking and feeding you all these years?”
Juan nodded. “Yes, master. When you beat the mule, you were actually beating me. But do not fret—how could you have known? Now I must return to my family. Please, do not tell anyone this secret; I wouldn’t want the years I spent as a mule to be known.”
Terrified that he had used a nobleman as a beast of burden, the muleteer apologized profusely and set Juan free. Juan went straight to his friends, and they enjoyed a grand feast with the money from the sale of the mule.
Two weeks later, the muleteer went to the market to replace the mule he had lost. While wandering around, what should he see but his old mule standing right there! It turned out Juan’s friends had sold the mule to someone at that very market, and that person had brought it back to sell again.
An acquaintance called out to the muleteer, “Hey, why don’t you buy this mule? It’s an animal you know well; don’t miss out!”
The muleteer looked at the mule with horror. He approached the animal and whispered into its ear: “Those who don’t know you may buy you, but I know exactly what you are! Clearly, you’ve committed another crime and they’ve turned you back into a mule. How terrifying is divine justice!”
Exclaiming, “This student has sinned again!” the man fled without looking back. Meanwhile, Juan and his friends continued to enjoy the fruits of their clever trick.
