The Tale of Ali Cogia

Ali Cogia, a merchant of Baghdad, prepared for a pilgrimage to Mecca. He placed his savings—a thousand pieces of gold—at the bottom of a jar and covered them with olives. He entrusted the sealed jar to a fellow merchant for safekeeping. Years passed before Ali Cogia returned. During his absence, the merchant, craving olives, opened the jar and discovered the gold. He stole the coins and refilled the jar with fresh olives. When Ali Cogia returned and found his gold missing, the merchant swore he had never touched the jar’s contents. The case was brought before the Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who found no evidence until he observed a group of children playing. One boy, acting as a judge, summoned olive merchants to examine the jar. The experts noted that olives would rot after seven years; the fresh olives in the jar proved they had been recently replaced. Inspired by the child’s wisdom, the Caliph had the merchant re-tried, the gold returned, and justice served.