151 Mulla Nasruddin’s Tales

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

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

A visiting Emperor was in Mulla Nasruddin’s town and specially visited Mulla’s little inn. He ordered a meal in the inn for lunch. When the Emperor finished the meal, he asked Mulla, “How much to pay?” “Fifty Thankas,” Mulla confidently answered. Surprised to hear such a high figure, the Emperor said, “Wow! That’s very expensive.

Mulla Nasruddin was hanging a painting in his room. As he hammered the nail, he accidentally hit too hard, and made a big hole in his wall. He saw goats on the other side, but didn’t realise that he was looking into his neighbour’s yard. He exclaimed, “Wife! You are not going to believe this!

A new ruler had just conquered Mulla Nasruddin’s town. He asked Mulla, “I want an honorary title for myself with the word ‘God’ in it, just like other conquerors such as ‘From God,’ ‘God’s Warrior,’ ‘God’s Soul,’ and ‘One-With-God.’ Do you have any suggestions for me?” “How about ‘God-Forbid’?” said Mulla and ran away before

Once, a travelling scholar came to meet famous Mulla Nasruddin of Bukhara. He invited Mulla to a meal at a local restaurant. The scholar ordered two lamb steaks for each of them and started having an interesting conversation with Mulla. After several minutes, the waiter brought a platter containing one medium-sized steak and one larger

Once, Mulla Nasruddin travelled to India on a business trip, and was very hungry. He found a man selling what appeared to be a fruit, and bought a huge basketful. As he bit into one and began munching it, he began sweating profusely and turning bright red; but still he kept on eating. As Mulla

Once, Mulla Nasruddin was chatting with a philosopher at the village study centre. After a while, Mulla said, “I am going to get a drink of water.” The philosopher said, “Add one for me, too.” Mulla came back and exclaimed, “After I had my drink, I tried to have a drink for you, too, but

One day, Mulla Nasruddin noticed a few merchants selling small parrots for two hundred Thankas a piece. He thought, ‘If each of these small birds is worth two hundred Thankas, then my big hen is surely worth far more.’ So the next day, Mulla brought his hen to the bazaar but to his surprise, the

One day, Mulla Nasruddin was shopping for clothes and walked into a store. The owner of the store greeted him. “Wait a second,” said Mulla, “Have you ever met me before?” “Never,” said the owner. “Then how do you know it was me?” asked Mulla. “Everyone knows you, Mulla!” said the owner. Suspiciously, Mulla tried

Mulla Nasruddin was so fed up with his donkey’s tantrums that he brought him to sell at the town bazaar. The donkey, however, would not cooperate, and bit every single person who tried to inspect it. A nearby seller said, “Do you really expect to sell a donkey that behaves like that?” “No,” Mulla replied,

One day, Mulla Nasruddin was running and singing at the same time. As he passed by several people, one of them, greatly curious about Mulla’s bizarre behaviour, decided to run after him and ask him about it. However, Mulla did not seem to notice, and continued his singing-jog as the other man followed. As they