One grape is as good as another
Once Nasruddin was returning from the vineyard, his little grey donkey laden with two baskets filled with bunches of luscious grapes, which he intended for sale at market.
The village kids gathered around the Mullah and pestered him mercilessly for some grapes, and after sufficient nagging Nasruddin finally stopped, handed each of the boys a single grape, then turned to leave.
Mehmet, the oldest boy, complained, “Why are you so stingy, Nasruddin? You have so many grapes. Can’t we have more than one apiece?”
“Don’t be foolish,” said Nasruddin as he made a hasty exit. “All grapes taste exactly alike. If you’ve tasted one grape, you’ve tasted them all. So it doesn’t matter in the least if you get one or a whole bunch.”
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 holds to his stinginess and evades the kids with a simple (il)logical ruse:
If you’ve tasted one grape, that singular event is sufficient to be able to say, “I have tasted such a grape, and lo! because the grape was so delicious and juicy, I then decided, I am satisfied with my grape experience and require not even one more of that luscious fruit.“
Compare this story with the one in which Nasruddin hands out walnuts to the village kids, often titled, “God’s way, or mortal’s way?”.
Don’t Ask Me — Ask the Donkey
Don’t Ask Me — Ask the Donkey
. . . continued from previous entry. . .
. . . to be continued . . .
Excerpted from The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin: Stories, Jests, and Donkey Tales of the Beloved Persian Folk Hero
Your Daily Nasruddin
This story is classic Nasruddin, riding backward on his donkey (or a horse in certain versions). Asked why he travels backward, Nasruddin will deny that it is he who is facing the wrong direction. Asked where he is destined, Nasruddin can only reply, “Don’t ask me, ask the donkey.” And in all honesty, the Mullah does not know where he is headed, so the most logical (though still incredibly foolish) response is to refer the questioner to the animal who is wildly dragging the man behind him throughout the marketplace.