Nasruddin

Missive #514 Published 13 June 2025

91. Nasruddin and the Village Boys

Nasruddin met some boys from the village and decided to play a trick on them.

“Hey!” he shouted. “Did you know it’s the mayor’s birthday? There’s a party with music and dancing and all the food you can eat. You better hurry and run to the mayor’s house as fast as you can!”

“Thank you, Nasruddin!” shouted the boys, and they immediately dashed off towards the mayor’s house.

Then Nasruddin thought to himself, “You know, it really might be the mayor’s birthday after all…” and he began to run after the boys.

“Wait for me!” he shouted. “I’m coming too!”

Missive #508 Published 6 June 2025

90. Naked Nasruddin

One morning Nasruddin arrived at school not wearing any clothes. He was completely naked! All the other schoolboys laughed at him, but the teacher was not amused. In fact, he was very angry.

“Nasruddin, explain yourself!” said the teacher sternly. “What on earth are you doing here without any clothes on?”

“Just let me explain,” Nasruddin replied, smiling brightly at the teacher. “I woke up late, so I was in a big hurry and I ran just as fast as I could. I simply didn’t have time to get dressed if I wanted to get here to school on time.”

Missive #504 Published 30 May 2025

89. Young Nasruddin and the Tall Tales

When he was a young boy, Nasruddin liked to sit around the fires of the passing caravans and listen to travelers’ tales about faraway places. He enjoyed the stories of valiant warriors in battle, tales of genies and magic, and most of all he enjoyed the anecdotes about the very strange habits of people who lived in distant lands.

“I once visited a land that was so hot all year long,” one traveler claimed, “that no one in their country wore any clothes.”

“Impossible!” protested Nasruddin. “Without clothes, how would you be able to tell the men from the women?”

Missive #500 Published 23 May 2025

88. Nasruddin’s Playful Turban

It was a windy day and as Nasruddin was walking home, a big gust of wind blew the turban right off his head. Some children who were playing nearby grabbed the turban and began tossing it back and forth.

Nasruddin chased the children, hoping to get his turban back. “Hey there, children!” he said. “Give me back my turban!”

Then, when he saw how much fun the children were having, he gave up and went home.

“Where’s your turban?” Nasruddin’s wife asked. “Did you leave it somewhere?”

“It suddenly remembered its childhood,” replied Nasruddin, “and it decided to go play.”

Missive #496 Published 16 May 2025

87. Nasruddin and the Tall Tree

The village boys wanted to trick Nasruddin and steal his new shoes. “Look at this tall tree!” they shouted. “We’re too small to climb it, but maybe you can.”

Nasruddin looked at the tree, smiled and said, “That would be fun. I’ll try!”

So, Nasruddin took off his new shoes. Next, he tucked the shoes inside his belt. Then he began climbing.

“Wait!” shouted the boys. “Why are you taking your shoes with you?”

“This tree is so tall that it might lead all the way to heaven,” Nasruddin replied, “and I’ll need my shoes to walk around up there.”

Missive #493 Published 9 May 2025

86. Nasruddin Gets a Haircut

Nasruddin and a little boy walked into a barbershop together. “Do me first, and then the boy here,” Nasruddin said.

The barber gave Nasruddin a haircut and as he was giving the boy a haircut, Nasruddin strolled out of the shop.

When he had finished, the barber waited for Nasruddin to come back and pay.

Finally he asked the boy, “When do you think your father will be back?”

“Oh, that’s not my father,” said the boy. “He just picked me up off the street out there and said, ‘Let’s go get us some free haircuts’ … and so we did!”

Missive #489 Published 2 May 2025

85. Nasruddin Rewards His Son

Nasruddin’s son received a good report from his teacher at school.

“Son, I’m proud of you,” said Nasruddin. “You may make a request of me, and I will grant it.”

The son was taken aback by this generous offer. “May I have a day to think about it?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Nasruddin.

The boy came back the next day and said, “Father, I want a donkey.”

“Well, that would be two requests now, wouldn’t it? I already granted your request for a day to think things over.”

Nasruddin’s son was disappointed, but not surprised: he should have known better!

Missive #486 Published 25 April 2025

84. Nasruddin and the Philosopher’s Questions

A renowned philosopher traveled to Nasruddin’s town to challenge him in a contest of wisdom. Everyone gathered to see the show, hoping that Nasruddin would uphold the honor of their town.

To begin the contest, the challenger asked if Nasruddin wanted to answer one hundred easy questions or just one hard question.

“I’ll take the one hard question,” Nasruddin said.

“Which came first: the chicken or the egg?”

“The chicken,” replied Nasruddin confidently.

The philosopher was surprised by Nasruddin’s answer. “How can you be so sure?”

“Ah,” said Nasruddin, “that is your second question. I agreed to answer only one.”

Missive #481 Published 18 April 2025

83. Nasruddin Eating Eggs

Nasruddin was sitting in a chair outside, eating eggs for dinner. He didn’t usually eat dinner outside, and eggs were not his usual dinner, but so it was: Nasruddin was sitting in a chair outside, eating eggs for dinner.

One of Nasruddin’s neighbors happened to walk by, and he just couldn’t keep quiet. “Hey there, Nasruddin,” he said, “why are you sitting in your chair eating eggs like that?”

Nasruddin looked up and replied, “Would it be better if I sat in the eggs and ate the chair?”

The best way to answer a foolish question is with another question.