The Smuggler

Every first of the month Mullah Nasruddin used to cross the border with thirty donkeys, with two bails of straw on each. Each time the custom person stopped him to ask about his profession and Nasruddin would reply, “I am an honest smuggler.” So each time, Nasruddin, his donkeys and the bails of straw were searched from top to toe. Each time the custom folk could not find anything. Next week, Nasruddin would return without his donkeys or bails of straw. Years went by and Nasruddin prospered in his smuggling profession to the extent that he retired. Many years later, the custom person too had retired. As it happened one day, the two former adversaries met in a country far from home. The two hugged each other like old buddies and started talking. After a while, the custom person asked the question which had been bugging him over the years, “Mullah, please let me know what were you smuggling all those years ago?” Nasruddin thought for a few seconds and finally revealed his open secret, “Donkeys.”

Since you already know

Once, the people of The City invited Mulla Nasruddin to deliver a khutba. When he got on the minbar (pulpit), he found the audience was not very enthusiastic, so he asked “Do you know what I am going to say?” The audience replied “NO”, so he announced “I have no desire to speak to people who don’t even know what I will be talking about” and he left. The people felt embarrassed and called him back again the next day. This time when he asked the same question, the people replied “YES” So Mullah Nasruddin said, “Well, since you already know what I am going to say, I won’t waste any more of your time” and he left. Now the people were really perplexed. They decided to try one more time and once again invited Mullah Nasruddin to speak the following week. Once again he asked the same question – “Do you know what I am going to say?” Now the people were prepared and so half of them answered “YES” while the other half replied “NO”. So Mullah Nasruddin said “The half who know what I am going to say, tell it to the other half” and he left!