Shimon ben Shetach would sell flax for a living.

His students asked him - Rebbi, why not leave it and we will buy you a donkey to ride and you will not need to travel everywhere by foot? They went and bought him a donkey from an Arab merchant. The donkey had a diamond tied to its neck.

They came to Shimon ben Shetach and said to him, "Now that we have found a diamond, you do not need to work anymore!''

He asked them why and they told him what had happened.

He asked them if the seller knew about the diamond and they said that he did not.

He told them that it must be returned. When this story was heard in the Study Hall they asked, "Did Rav Huna Baybei bar Gozlon not say in the name of Rav that they asked about this case before Rebbi, who said that even according to the opinion that holds that one may not steal from a gentile, nevertheless his lost object may be kept by the finder?

A Rabbi of the Study Hall answered: Do you think that Shimon ben Shetach would just grab something in that way?! Shimon ben Shetach wanted to hear the gentile say, "Blessed be the G-d of the Jews!''...and this was worth more than all of the reward in this world.

Question: From where do we know that for the sake of sanctifying Hash-m's name, one should return a gentile's lost item?

R. Chanina recounted the following story - The elderly Sages bought a pile of wheat from some (gentile) soldiers. The Sages found a pile of gold dinars inside it and returned it to them. The gentiles said, "Blessed is the G-d of the Jews (who commanded you to do this)!''

Aba Oshiyah of Turaya was a launderer. The (gentile) queen once came to bathe in a pool and she left behind her bathing accessories. Aba Oshiyah found them and returned them to her. She asked him, "Why did you do this? These items are not important to me as I have better and bigger ones than them''.

He told her, "My Torah commands me to return them''. She said, "Blessed be the G-d of the Jews''

R. Shmuel bar Susartai travelled to Rome. The queen lost her precious jewel and R. Shmuel found it. The Romans announced that whoever returns it within 30 days will receive a certain reward; and whoever returns it only after 30 days will lose his head.

R. Shmuel heard the announcement but nevertheless held onto it until after 30 days (to show that he only feared Hash-m and nobody else) and then returned it. The queen asked him if he had been in the province during that time. He replied that he had been there.

The queen: Didn't you hear the announcement? He replied that he had heard it.

The queen: So what was it? He replied, "Whoever returns it within 30 days will receive a certain reward; and whoever returns it only after 30 days will lose his head.''

The queen: So why didn't you return it during the 30 days?

R. Shmuel: So that people should not say that I did it from fear of servants; rather, they should say that I did it because I feared Hash-m.

The queen: Blessed be the G-d of the Jews!

Alexander Mukdon went to a certain king on the other side of the world. The king showed him great quantities of gold and silver in his Royal Treasury.

Alexander: I don't need gold or silver. I came to see your customs - how you do business and how you judge in court.

Whilst they were talking a man came with a claim against another person. He had bought from the other one a piece of land including a garbage dump and a disused building. The buyer began to dig there and discovered a treasure chest of money. The buyer claimed that he had bought the dump, but without the treasure inside it. The seller said that he sold him the entire dump, thereby including the treasure.

Whilst they were talking, the king said to one of them, "Do you have a son?'' The man replied that he did.

The king said to the other one, "Do you have a daughter?'' The man replied that he did.

The king said, "Let us marry them together and the treasure and precious stones will remain between both of you.''

Alexander began to laugh. The king asked him, "Why are you laughing. Didn't I judge well? How would you have judged in this situation?''

Alexander: We would have killed both of them and taken the treasure for the king!

King: Do you love gold so much?

The king ordered that they prepare for Alexander a banquet with gold meat and gold chicken.

Alexander: Do you think that I eat gold?

King: You must eat it or why else would you love it so much! Does the sun shine in your country? Alexander answered 'yes'. Does rain fall? Alexander answered 'yes'.

King: Do you have small animals? Alexander answered 'yes'.

King: That man (i.e. you) deserves to die - you only exist and have sun and rain there in order to sustain the small animals (but you yourselves have no merit), as the pasuk states (Tehilim 36, 7), "Hash-m, You save man and animal'' (meaning that man will be saved in the merit of animals).