DONKEY TALES
Mulla Nasrudin Stories
by
VIKRAM KARVE
Strolling on a beach, Mulla Nasrudin noticed some fishermen huddled lighting a fire near a wooden boat, and curious, he asked them what it was for.
“We are melting tar,” said a fisherman.
“Tar?” Nasrudin asked confused.
“Yes, we are making tar to cover the cracks in the underside of the boat. This reduces the friction and makes the vessels go faster.”
Nasrudin rushed straight home and made a bonfire.
Then he tied up his lazy donkey and melted some tar in a pan.
As soon as he brought the smoking tar close to the underside of the donkey and began applying the molten red hot liquid to the donkey’s stomach, the terrified donkey broke loose, ran like the wind and disappeared over the horizon at top speed.
Truly amazed at what he saw Mulla Nasrudin exclaimed: “It works all right...!”
He had never seen his lazy and lethargic donkey run so fast before.
Nasrudin’s donkey did not return for many days.
An anxious Nasrudin repeatedly kept asking every one he met whether they had seen his donkey.
Fed up with him, they told him to ask the town's ‘wise man’ who knew the answers to all the questions.
“Nasrudin,” the wise man said, “your donkey has run off, turned into a man and has been appointed magistrate in the next town.
An anxious Nasrudin repeatedly kept asking every one he met whether they had seen his donkey.
Fed up with him, they told him to ask the town's ‘wise man’ who knew the answers to all the questions.
“Nasrudin,” the wise man said, “your donkey has run off, turned into a man and has been appointed magistrate in the next town.
Thanking the wise man for the information, Mull Nasrudin trudged to the neigbouring town and entered the courtroom.
There sat the magistrate, and Nasrudin shook his fist angrily at him : “Come home at once, you foolish animal!”
The magistrate was furious : “Who are you and how dare you talk to me like that...? I’ll have you arrested and sent to jail...!”
There sat the magistrate, and Nasrudin shook his fist angrily at him : “Come home at once, you foolish animal!”
The magistrate was furious : “Who are you and how dare you talk to me like that...? I’ll have you arrested and sent to jail...!”
“I am the well-known Mulla Nasrudin of the neighbouring town and you are my donkey...!”
"Who told you that...?" the magistrate asked.
"The wise man in my town told me..." Nasrudin answered.
"Who told you that...?" the magistrate asked.
"The wise man in my town told me..." Nasrudin answered.
“That’s ridiculous. Are you mad...? Do I look like a donkey...?” the incredulous magistrate asked Nasrudin.
Nasrudin drew himself up to his full height and said : “I prefer to believe the statement of a wise man rather than that of a donkey.”
The furious magistrate ordered that Nasrudin immediately be thrown out of this town, so a distraught Nasrudin returned home.
Mulla Nasrudin’s donkey did not return for many days and Nasrudin was overcome with grief.
“You may have lost your donkey, Mulla Nasrudin, but you don’t have to grieve over it more than you did when you lost your wife.”
“Ah,” Nasrudin said, “if you remember when I lost my wife, all you villagers consoled me and said: ‘We will find you a new wife – and you did find me a new wife’. So far, nobody has offered to replace my donkey.”
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
Interesting story. What is the moral of this story, sir?
ReplyDeleteThink about it...close your eyes and let story permeate in your mind...
ReplyDeleteIn China, the word “donkey” is used to call someone an “ass”. Go here if you want to see Ass Donkey photos.
ReplyDelete