Middle of the mat

A Mullah Nasruddin / Nasreddin Hoca story

Middle of the mat

Mullah Nasruddin
Mullah Nasruddin

One day, Mullah Nasruddin was traveling with two fellows. The two men were friends and said to the Mullah, “We want to buy a mat and a blanket.”

Mullah said to them, “I’ll buy the mat and share it with you, but you must agree that I will only sleep in the middle of the mat. Also, I will not buy the blanket with you.” And he paid the other two for his share of the mat.

They could not obtain the mat without the Mullah’s contribution, so they agreed, thinking they would not share the blanket with Nasruddin. So the three men bought the mat and the other two bought the blanket.

Nasruddin laid himself in the middle of the mat and went to sleep. Now, if the other two wanted to sleep on it, they would have to lie down on either side of him. Then they realized that they could not tear the blanket so that each man could have his own. Thus Nasruddin got to enjoy the blanket without paying for it.

 

Excerpted from the forthcoming Lethe Press book by Ron J. Suresha,

Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin, by Ron J. Suresha

 

Lucky Pierre, always in the middle.


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