When Details Matter

by rjs
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Published on: May 21, 2011

When Details Matter

Once, Yousef, Nasruddin’s father, dragged young Nasruddin into court to testify on his behalf in a case about disputed possession of some grain. Before he testified, his father made it clear that the boy was to perjure himself while on the witness stand — or else suffer dire consequences.
When Nasruddin was called as a witness, the judge asked, “Did you witness the transaction?”
Nasruddin began, “Yes, sir. I clearly saw the sacks of barley change hands—”
“Hold on there, boy,” said the judge, “this case is about stolen wheat, not barley.”
Nasruddin replied, “Barley, wheat — tell me, your Honor, what do the details matter if I am not supposed to tell the truth in the first place?”

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

Your Daily Nasruddin

Nasruddin inadvertantly presents truth while intentionally lying for his father.

Young Nasruddin presents the truth while telling a baldfaced lie. By asking the çadi, or judge, “Under what circumstances do the particular facts matter if your primary intention is to mislead others?” he innocently (foolishly, to his father) admits his intention to misspeak the truth.

He questions the çadi: “If I know that everything I say is of no particular value, why can’t I just say any foolish thing that comes out of my mouth?”

In all the versions of this story that I came across, the çadi does not respond to Nasruddin’s question.

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