Someone Else’s Ass | Mullah Nasruddin Books by Ron J. Suresha

Somebody Else’s Donkey

Someone Else’s Donkey

Once, Luqman, the town constable or bekche, realized that his own donkey was missing.

Immediately Nasruddin organized a search party to help find the lost animal.

He led the search, walking up and down the streets of Akşehir, singing in a loud and rather unmelodious voice.

Nasruddin’s screeching was indeed so awful that the neighbors shut their windows. Even dogs laid down and put their paws over their ears.

Finally Mali, who was with Nasruddin’s group, asked him, “Why are you making all that horrid noise, Nasruddin? Do you really expect to find the donkey by singing like that?”

“Of course, one can sing like this to find a donkey,” the Mullah replied, “if it is somebody else’s donkey.”

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

Your Daily Nasruddin

When I was titling this book, I certainly wanted to include the phrase “donkey tales.”

Tales and jokes about Nasruddin and his little grey donkey are the most prevalent types of Mullah jokes. There’s something classically funny yet poignant about a situation with a man and his ass.

In the book I took literary license to name the Mullah’s donkey, Karakachan.

I asked several sources, including my Turkish bear friend Mali (and who even asked a librarian for me, I believe) if anyone was aware or could locate the name of Nasruddin’s beloved donkey. The answer was “no name for the donkey.”

I recognize that in Turkey it’s uncommon to name pets and animals, but the donkey is a central character in the play of Nasruddin’s life, so I asked a native Turk to invent a funny name for a donkey.

Mali suggested a pet name for a donkey, Karakachan, which sounded to my ear like a fun name for a beast of burden – although I know no Turkish. When I asked a Turkish restaurateur I befriended in New London, CT, where I wrote the book, he agreed that Karakachan sounded like a good name for Nasruddin’s famous donkey.

So that’s how Nasruddin’s little grey donkey got her name.