Hi,

Semi, in the Pope &-versions, the Pope always (believes he) is bested. I was wondering whether you could have a version where both felt they had gained from the encounter.

EBarnacle, in the traditional versions, there always appears to be a religious theme. Maybe that's merely because of the prominence of symbolism in many religions, or maybe it's a characteristic of the very first version. But anyway, that theme appears to be universal.

Linn, it's definitely not the contemporary story you were looking for. This one was written yesterday by a P.H. van den Muijzenberg, who uses the nick 'Mysha'. (-:
BTW, it occurred to me that not everyone reading this might know the story of the pilgrims and the robbers. However, this is one of the occasions where owning a few thousands books is a disadvantage: I can't recall where I can find it. Could you tell it, here (assuming you know it)?

                                                                Mysha

Come to think of it; I'm not sure the theme would fit the hodja very well. It's, after all, what he says that characterises him. A silent debate probably wouldn't allow for that. There is a story about the hodja in debate with three Occidental monks, but it's really not silent.
                                                                Mysha