A priest was getting ready to attend a sacrifice. "I need to take fire and water," he thought to himself. "I need water for washing, and fire to burn the incense."
But because this priest was lazy, he decided not to carry both the fire pot and the water pot. Instead, he poured the water into the fire pot.
When he got to the sacrifice, the fire had gone out and the water was all sooty.
Nevertheless, he washed his hands and face with the water, and they turned black with soot, so everyone laughed at the foolish priest's mistake.
Inspired by: The Ocean of Story by Somadeva, translated by C.H. Tawney: Volume 5.
Notes: This is Story 87.
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