One day, Mulla Nasruddin heard a Fakir in the village square. The Fakir claimed, “I can teach any illiterate person to read through an ‘instant technique’.” Soon, a large crowd gathered around him and Mulla pushed his way to the centre as he was curious. “All right, teach me!” Mulla challenged the Fakir. Closing his eyes, the Fakir murmured something. Then he touched Mulla’s head and said, “Now and read something.” Mulla left. An hour later, he returned to the village square in anger. “What happened?” asked the villagers. “Can you read now?” “Indeed I can,” replied Mulla. “But that’s not why I came back. Now where is that cheating Fakir?” “Mulla,” the people said, “he taught you to read in no more than a minute. So what makes you think he’s a cheat?” “Well, I was just reading a book that said, ‘All Fakirs are cheats’” Mulla explained. The villagers had a hearty laugh at this.
The Dishonest Fakir
