A man discovers $700 in a wallet. A few days later, he finds a letter that says a rich man misplaced his wallet and that there is a $50 reward for finding it. After a while, the man finds the owner and gives the wallet back, but the rich man remarks, “I see you’ve already taken your reward.” “What do you mean?” the poor man asks, bewildered. “This wallet had $750 in it when I lost it,” the rich man replies.
Following some back and forth, the two men agree to go to court to resolve the issue.
The wealthy man speaks after the impoverished guy makes his case, saying, “Your Honor, I trust you, and you trust me.” “Obviously,” the judge says in agreement.
The rich man is now grinning, and the poor man is worried. “You are, of course, an honest man, and if you claim that your wallet had $750, I believe it,” the judge says after giving the poor man the wallet. However, this wallet must be someone else’s because the man who found it wouldn’t have given it back at all if he were a thief or a liar. Until the true owner steps forward, the money belongs to the person who found it.
“What about my money?” argues the rich man.
“We’ll just have to wait until your wallet with the $750 is found,” the judge responds coolly.
