Appearance
One day a Sufi went to a banquet. As he was dressed rather shabbily, no one let him in.
So he ran home, put on his best robe and fur coat and returned. Immediately, the host came over, greeted him and ushered him to the head of an elaborate banquet table.
When the food was served, the Sufi took some soup with spoon and pushed it to the his fur coat and said, Eat my fur coat, eat! It's obvious that you're the real guest of honor today, not me!
Pleasure
"O People! Shouted Nasrudin, running through the streets of his village, "Know that I have lost my donkey. Anyone who brings it back will be given the donkey as a reward!"
"You must be mad," said some spectators to this strange event.
"Not at all, said Nasrudin; do you not know that the pleasure which you get when you find something lost is greater than the joy of possessing it?"
Superiority
Mulla Nasrudin used to stand in the street on market-days, to be pointed out as an idiot. No matter how often people offered him a large and a small coin, he always chose the smaller piece.
One day a kindly man said to him: Nasrudin, you should take the bigger coin. Then you will have more money and people will no longer be able to make a laughing stock of you.
That may be true, said Nasrudin, but if I always take the larger, people will stop offering me money to prove that I am more idiotic than they are. Then I would have no money at all.
Wealth
One evening before bed, Nasruddin prayed for a financial deliverance. "I must have ten gold pieces to pay off all my debts," he whispered in his prayers. "Nine will not do. Eleven, more than I need. Ten, God willing, would be perfect."
Nasruddin fell into the most wonderful dream: he found himself kneeling and holding out his hands before a fabulous angel, who was smiling beatifically. The angel was holding a large pot full of gold, from which she took out one gold coin after another, counting each piece as she placed it in Nasruddin’s outstretched fingers, "One … two … three …"
The gold pot was so large and full, and the angel so generous! With each coin that fell into Nasruddin’s cupped hands, he felt a thrilling rush of grace course through his body.
"Four … five … six …," continued the honey-voiced divinity as the gold coins landed happily in Nasruddin’s palms. With each clink of the metal coins, he experienced a surge of ecstatic energy. It was almost too much! Could he withstand yet even more blessings?
"Seven … eight … nine …" Nasruddin counted with the angel. "Ten! I got all ten! They are mine!" he shouted jubilantly, finding himself wide awake with his arms outstretched, his hands clutched heavenward, but his palms bare.
Finding his fortune vanished, Nasruddin immediately lay down under the covers and pretended to sleep again. He shut his eyes tight and held up his hands, saying, "Okay, divine angel — I’ll settle for nine!"
People
Nasruddin and his son, Ahmet, were taking a trip with Karakacan, their faithful little grey donkey, the son riding while the Mullah walked alongside. As some strangers encountered them on the road, one man admonished Nasruddin’s son, "Look at you, a healthy young man, letting your aging father walk. Why, the old man looks like he’s about to have heatstroke. That’s today’s youth for you — indolent and disrespectful."
After they passed out of sight and earshot of the men, the boy felt very ashamed and got off the donkey. He insisted that his father ride while he walked, and so they went and everything was fine for a while.
Farther along they met a group of women sitting by the road. They clucked their tongues and complained loudly, "Look at that — the lazy father rides the donkey and makes the little boy walk, on a hot day like this. How cruel and unfair is that?"
Embarrassed by the women’s comments, Nasruddin pulled his boy up to ride on the donkey with him, and they traveled like that for a while in silent dread of the next encounter.
Before long they approached some villagers, and one piped up, "What a shame! I feel sorry for that abused little donkey — carrying both of those grown men in this blazing heat. They are surely going to break its back. The poor beast looks almost ready to collapse."
After this group passed, Nasruddin stopped the donkey, dismounted, and helped Ahmet get off. He grasped both his son’s hand and the donkey’s rein and declared, exasperated, "Now nobody can complain," and they resumed their journey.
At the next village, they walked by a shop where several men were standing. When the men saw the trio trudging along on eight legs, they laughed and pointed, taunting them, "Look at those stupid fools — walking in this heat with a perfectly good donkey they could ride! Don’t they have any brains at all?"
Nasruddin turned to Ahmet and said, "This just goes to show you, my boy, about the wicked criticism of people whom you don’t know. Everyone has an opinion and is quick to share it with you — but there is no pleasing anyone in this world. Therefore, you may as well just do as you wish."