One day, Mulla Nasruddin was presiding over the court as a judge when his neighbour came running inside. He asked, “Judge Mulla, if one man’s cow kills another’s cow, is the owner of the first cow responsible?” “It depends,” Mulla cautiously answered. “Well,” said the neighbour, “your cow has killed mine!” “Oh,” answered Mulla. “Well, […]
Once there was a fox who wished he could fly. His name was Finny. But he was a fox. How could he fly? His friend Quicky Pig said, “Foxes cannot fly and neither can pigs!” But Finny was not happy about this. He wanted to change this fact. So, one day, an idea struck him.
One night, Mulla Nasruddin was invited to the royal palace for dinner. The Sultan asked Mulla if he enjoyed the stew. “It was fantastic!” replied Mulla. “Really?” said the Sultan. “I thought it was pretty bad.” “Yes, it was quite awful!” said Mulla. “You just said it was fantastic a few seconds ago,” remarked the
Once, there was a rat called Dinny. Near his house a little stream flowed. One day, he decided to visit his friends who lived down the stream. So, he quickly finished his household chores. Then he set off for his friends’ house. While he was walking, he saw a paper boat near the stream. So,
Once, Mulla Nasruddin was travelling through the desert, and saw a holy man. He introduced himself, and the holy man said, “I am a mystic devoted to the appreciation of all life forms, especially birds.” “Oh, wonderful,” Mulla replied, “I would like to stay with you for a while so that we may share teachings.
A new conqueror ruled over the kingdom and resided in Mulla Nasruddin’s town. He looked for ways to put an end to a rebellion active in a nearby town. “The people have risen against the governor,” an official explained, “They say they have had enough of his oppressive rule.” “We should send troops and weapons
One day, a snail was very hungry. So, he climbed up a tree and started eating the leaves on a branch hanging over the stream. As he was eating away, he suddenly slipped. He fell on a small rock in the middle of the water. The poor snail did not know what to do. He
One day, Mulla Nasruddin saw some ripe oranges in his neighbour’s garden, and wanted to steal one. He took his ladder up to the dividing wall, climbed to the top of it, and pulled the ladder over. As he began climbing down to his neighbour’s side, he suddenly heard his neighbour yelling, “Hey Mulla, what
One day, Mulla Nasruddin went to the mayor’s mansion, wearing a fancy turban. “Wow!” said the mayor, “What a magnificent turban! I’ve never seen anything like it. How much will you sell it for?” “A thousand Thankas,” Mulla calmly replied. Just then, a local merchant turned to the mayor and remarked, “That price definitely exceeds
One day, Mulla Nasruddin walked up to the palace, carrying a sack of potatoes. A man asked him, “Where are you going?” “I’m taking this gift of potatoes for the new ruler,” Mulla replied. The man said, “That’s not a suitable gift for a ruler. You should give him something better, like strawberries.” So, Mulla
Once, there was a very nice elephant named Paddy. Now Paddy was a lover of Nature. He loved fresh air and green trees. He always kept his window open, whether it was summers or winters. During winters, it used to get very cold but Paddy never closed his window. Even when his friends complained about
A farmer owned a large orchard which had a number of fruit trees. One day, he saw a barren apple-tree. It no longer bore any fruit. A friend was also with him. His friend said, “This is a useless tree, which provides shelter to birds only. You must cut it down.” The very next day,
One day, Mulla Nasruddin was boasting to a group of people about how immensely hospitable he was. One of them said, “Well then, will you take us all to your home and treat us to a meal?” Mulla agreed. When they reached his house, he told, “Wait out here so that I may let my
One day, Mulla Nasruddin bet with his friends that he could endure a winter’s night near the mountains, wearing only slippers, shorts and a shirt. The next day, Mulla went to collect his money. His friends wanted to know if he remained outside, without wearing anything else. Mulla said, “I had nothing. In fact, the
Lily was a lover of Nature. She was particularly very fond of goldfish. So, she went to the market and bought a goldfish. She named her Wally. Now, Lily also had a cat named Gini. One day, while Lily was out, her cat Gini decided to take care of Wally for good. Gini was jealous