Whoever Sees the Light
When Fatima was pregnant for the first time, she went into labor early in the evening and was attended closely in the bedroom by their neighbor, Setare, the midwife, while Nasruddin nervously waited outside. Many hours passed before anything else happened. Though he tried stay awake, Nasruddin was ready to fall asleep standing up when finally, at dawn, Setare came out and said, “Congratulations, Nasruddin! It’s a boy!”
As the midwife returned to Fatima’s side, Nasruddin could see the sun rising through the bedroom window. Nasruddin was beside himself with pride, and he rushed to tell the neighbors.
Mullah Nasruddin“Congratulate me! I have just had a child!”
“Marvelous, Nasruddin! Is it a boy, or a girl?” said Hussein.
“Yes — how did you know‽”
Nasruddin returned to outside the bedroom. After a few minutes, Setare called out to Nasruddin again, exclaiming, “Congratulations, Nasruddin! You also have a girl!”
As the midwife went back into the bedroom, he could see that the sun had peeped over the horizon. He was certainly still proud, but now he started to wonder how would he feed two more mouths on his meager income as an aspiring young mullah.
Nasruddin stepped back to consult Hussein.
“Congratulate me! I have just had another child!”
“Wonderful, Nasruddin! Is it a girl, or a boy?”
“Yes — but how in the world could you have possibly known‽”
The response was interrupted by Setare who once again rejoined Nasruddin, calling out to him, “Congratulations, Nasruddin! It’s twin girls!”
Nasruddin suddenly rushed into the bedroom, grabbed the quilt and covers off Fatima, and threw the bedding over the window, then blew out the room lamps.
Fatima shrieked, “Nasruddin, what are you doing?”
“What else can I do‽” cried Nasruddin, “Whoever sees the light wants to come out!”
Excerpted from The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin: Stories, Jests, and Donkey Tales of the Beloved Persian Folk Hero
