The Wanderings of the preacher Boutros...To Get What One Deserves

Preacher Boutros was sitting in the market-place one afternoon when he saw a fight break out between three merchants. Going over to investigate, he asked:
"Are you not ashamed to skirmish in the dust in this way?"

The three men stopped fighting, straightened thier clothes and explained:
"We pooled our money and bought eighteen cattle. One of us paid half the price, one of us a third, and the last paid a ninth of the total price. Now that we come to divide the animals, we find that we cannot decide how many we each own. And we do not want to cut up the animals."

"I could decide this for you," replied the Preacher, "but each of you will have to give me a reward."

"You won't start cutting our cattle?", said the tense men,

"That will not be necessary." reassured the Preacher.

"Very well," agreed the merchants, "you may have a reward if you can solve the problem."

Lining the men and the cattle up in front of him, Boutros began.

"You," he said to the first man, "paid half the price: nine of the cattle are yours. "You,", he told the second man, "paid a third of the amount: take six cattle. You," he said to the third man, "are owed two cattle for your contribution of the one-ninth of the sum. Which leaves one goat for me."

And taking his reward he walked off.