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and was crushed to death. The other actors dragged him to the court.
The next morning, they all went to the king's court where the Minister of Justice heard the three different complaints and asked the poor luckless man whether whatever they said was true. He admitted that it was so. The minister however took pity on him and said he would speak to each one of the complainant separately. The owner of the bullocks was the first to whom the minister said, "I will order this man to return your bullocks but he will also gouge your eyes. Obviously you do not use them." When the man protested the minister continued, "As a matter of fact, you had seen the bullocks being brought back; if you had not seen them, your friend would not have gone back home. No one, you know, goes away like that before returning the goods to the owner." To the horseman the minister said, "I will replace the horse but he will cut-off your tongue." The horseman looked aghast and the minister explained, "When you told him, note only when you told him to hit the horse, he hit him, not before. Now you want me to punish him and not the one who had asked him to hit. Surely, it is your tongue that needs the punishment."
The minister now turned to the actors and said, "I do not have to ask him to return or replace anything by way of compensation to you. But we can do like this. I will ask him to stand under the tree. Any one of you can hang himself from the tree and fall on him." At last luck smiled on our unlucky friend.
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