By Abdellatif Sharaa

sheep that became a dog. It is a true story, although it is very hard to believe. A person had a sheep that he wanted to sell, so he headed with it to the market. Four thieves saw him and decided to steal the sheep, but in a smart way. Thus, they decided to sit at different parts of the street that leads to the market.

The first sat at the beginning of the road, the second at the quarter of it, the third in the middle and the fourth at just before the road's end. "Why are you pulling that dog behind you?" the first thief asked the man when he passed by him. The sheep's owner looked at him and said that what he was pulling was not a dog, but a sheep that he was taking to the market to sell.

He kept walking and then was met by the second thief. "Why are you pulling that dog behind you?" the second thief asked. The man looked at him and said that it was a sheep that he was taking to the market to sell, and kept going. At that point, the man started doubting himself, and he inspected the sheep to make sure it was actually a sheep and not a dog as the two men he'd just met have told him.

The man then met the third thief, who again asked the same previous question. The man became even more confused, looked at the thief and then left without answering, because he started to believe that he was actually pulling a dog and not a sheep! He kept walking until he met the fourth thief, who greeted him and asked: "What is wrong with you, tying a dog behind you like that?" The sheep owner became sure at that point that he was pulling a dog and not a sheep, because it was not realistic that all four men were lying.

He looked at the thief and told him: "I was in a hurry, and I thought this dog was a sheep, so I tied him up because I wanted to sell it at the market, and I did not realize it was a dog until now." He then untied and released the animal, and returned home to search for his sheep. The thieves, happy that their plan worked, took the sheep and moved on.

The lessons that should be learned from this story are:

• This is the same way the public opinion is formulated and misguided by professionals through social media at all personal, community and even international levels. For that goal, they do all that is possible to twist the truth and manipulate minds.
• One truth that must be realized: the sheep went with the thieves, while the dog had settled in the mind of its owner to the point that he believed his sheep is a dog and not a sheep.
• We must not leave our convictions, culture, religion and knowledge at the hands of mind thieves, for they are more dangerous than thieves who steal money.
  PS: The article has several excerpts from an original story. I thank the author who remains unknown to me!

[email protected]