A Mullah Nasruddin / Nasreddin Hoca story
Separate the wheat from the barley
One day, a man said to young Nasruddin, “I bet you’re too stupid to count on your fingers.”
The boy said, “Looks are deceiving. Try me.”
The fellow said, “Okay then, first, take two sacks of wheat.” The boy carefully folded down both his pinky and ring finger.
“And then take two sacks of barley.” The boy bent his forefinger and thumb down, which of course left his middle finger pointing out. The man acted offended and asked, “Why do you let the middle one stand out like that?”
Nasruddin replied, “So that the wheat does not mix with the barley.”
Excerpted from the forthcoming book,
Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin
by Ron J. Suresha