One day, a stranger came to Bukhara to check if the city had any wise people. He went to the town square and began asking the local people a variety of questions but they all referred him to Mulla Nasruddin. “Mulla, can you answer a few questions for me?” the stranger asked. Mulla eyed the sack of apples the stranger was carrying and replied, “I’ll answer each question for one apple.” The stranger agreed, asked the questions one by one, and paid an apple each time. Mulla immediately ate the given apple while he answered the question. Finally, the stranger ran out of apples. “All right then,” the stranger said, “Before I leave, I just want to know one thing.” “What?” Mulla asked. “How did you eat so many apples?” asked the stranger. “Since you have no more apples,” Mulla responded, “I can’t answer you.” The stranger accepted his defeat and left Bukhara.
Apples and Questions
