A Mullah Nasruddin / Nasreddin Hoca story
One house is plenty
One day, Nasruddin’s wife Fatima went to listen to the sermon at the mosque. When she came home, Mullah said to her, “Fatima, tell me: what did the preacher say today?”
She replied, “The preacher declared that, ‘Whoever shall perform his marital duty to his wife, he manifests God, the Almighty, in His grace, and makes his home a Paradise!”
When they both went to bed, the Mullah declared, “Come! Let us build ourselves a house filled with God’s grace,” and they coupled.
Shortly afterward, Nasruddin rolled off his wife. Fatima implored him to continue, “Wait, Mullah, you’ve just built a house for you. Hurry up, build me one!”
But Nasruddin replied, “It is easy enough for me to build you a house of your own. But I fear that you will then eventually invite your father and your mother to live there, and then finally, you’ll let all of your relatives into our house, which will make the architect indignant. Please, do not grieve. One house between the two of us is plenty!”
Excerpted from the forthcoming Lethe Press book by Ron J. Suresha,
Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin, by Ron J. Suresha