A man discovers a wallet with $700. A post from a wealthy man who lost his wallet a few days later caught his eye. He is offering a prize of $50 to the person who finds it. The man finds the owner and hands back the wallet. After counting the money, the wealthy man remarks, “I see you’ve already taken your reward.”
“What do you mean?” inquires the bewildered man.
“This wallet had $750 in it when I lost it,” the wealthy man responds.
They begin to quarrel and ultimately take their dispute to court to resolve it. After both men had given their accounts of what happened, the wealthy guy ends by stating, “Your Honor, I hope you believe me.”
The aging magistrate responds, “Obviously.” The impoverished man feels helpless while the rich man smiles. Subsequently, the wealthy man’s wallet is taken by the judge and given to the underprivileged man who discovered it.
With anger, the wealthy man queries, “What are you doing?”
“You are an honest man, and if you say your wallet had $750 in it, I believe you,” the judge responds. However, the man would not have returned the wallet at all if he had been dishonest in finding it. This wallet must belong to someone else. The money can be claimed by the true owner if they come forward. Otherwise, the one who found it keeps it.
“What about my money?” inquires the wealthy man.
“We’ll have to wait until someone finds your wallet with $750 in it,” the judge orders.