Good News for Blind Men
Once, when Nasruddin was a ferryman, five blind men came and requested to be taken across the river. They negotiated a price of five silver pieces for all the men and their luggage.
Nasruddin helped the men aboard, then the dinghy left the dock in choppy waters. Nasruddin was such a clumsy oarsman that as he was trying to control the rocking boat, he knocked one of the blind men overboard. One of the other passengers said, “What happened? I thought I heard a splash.”
Nasruddin said, “I have exceedingly good news for you. Once we arrive, you will have one silver piece less to pay for your fare.”
Excerpted from The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin: Stories, Jests, and Donkey Tales of the Beloved Persian Folk Hero
Your Daily Nasruddin
Another example of how Nasruddin craftily squirms his way out of lending his donkey. The Mullah is sometimes portrayed as being affluent and generous, but generally he’s said to be poor and somewhat of a skinflint.
In another story, when asked why he put his gum on his nose when eating, the Mullah replied, “Poor people always have to keep their possessions right in front of them.”
