Preventive Measure | Mullah Nasruddin Books by Ron J. Suresha

Preventive Measure

One morning, the wise fool Mullah Nasruddin woke up, yawned, and put on his dressing-gown, as he did every day.

Mullah Nasruddin

He decided that he would bathe early, and needed water for his bath, so he called for Ahmet, his son. He handed him a large earthen vase and told him to go fill the container at the nearby well. The boy took the vessel and turned to go, but just then Nasruddin swatted him across the back and yelled, “And don’t break it!” which nearly made Ahmet drop the fragile vessel.

Faruk, Nasruddin’s nosy neighbor, who watched the whole thing, reproached

Nasruddin after his son left. “Nasruddin, why were you so harsh with your child? Why did you punish him before he’s broken anything or done something wrong?”

Nasruddin regarded his neighbor and said, “Don’t be foolish. It wouldn’t do any good to reprimand him after he broke the vase, would it?”

Excerpted from The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin: Stories, Jests, and Donkey Tales of the Beloved Persian Folk Hero

Your Daily Nasruddin

Although corporal punishment for children is no longer acceptable in many if not most families, this story’s humor comes from the Mullah’s anachronism. He wants the child to be careful with the water jug, but in striking the child before he does anything wrong – in fact, which could cause the child to drop the vase – Nasruddin has reversed precaution and punishment.

And of course it’s always funny when a fool like Nasruddin calls someone else foolish.