This Reminds Me Of A Story

You are worth to people as much as they hope from you, teaches Gracian the philosopher. Not as much as they owe you. Only fools count on gratitude. If you want something, offer expectation in exchange. This reminds me of a story: The sweaty Mullah tired by the big city felt it was time to take a good bath. The chambers and washrooms of the old Court hammam in Konya were swarming with merry people glad to escape the sandy heat of the simoom, the poisonous wind of the summer. As his garment was poor and his face shy, Nasrudin was given a soiled towel, stinky slippers, a tiny piece of scorched soap and, of course, no attention. Well, at least they let him in. On his way out, he did not forget to leave an amazingly rich tip - a small gold coin. The following week, when he went to the bath, our Hoca was pampered like a pasha: large soft towels, sandal-wood clogs, silk peshtemal, precious scented soap at the soaking pools, refreshing drinks, total massage - at the limit between h...

You can pronounce all the right words and still not be understood. Use the talk fit to the folk you address. As the sage said, you cannot bring the people to the words, you must bring the words to the people. This reminds me of a story: St Peter Drowning CC J. Jaritz Kassim the taxman, the one squeezing the people each autumn for their last dime, fell into the fountain and was about to drawn. A flock of villagers stretched out helpful hands and shouted interrupting each other: “Your hand!” “Come, reach out! Let me have your hand” “Give me your hand! Quick!” All this, to no avail. The taxman kept thrashing around, choking and splashing, more and more exhausted. Now Nasruddin held out his arm and shouted: “Take my hand, Kassim!” The man instantly grabbed the hand and was pulled out of the water. To the amazed audience, the Hodja explained the obvious fact: “Did you ever see a taxman giving? They only know taking.”

When nothing else works, get offended. Indignation, if you keep calm, can be useful in lack of better arguments. You look stiff but dignified. You may get away with it. This reminds me of a story: Reposing peacefully under his porch, Nasreddin sipped warm sweet tea, with delight. Hassan, the neighbour, chose this moment to come and ask for a small favour. “Please Hoça, lend me your donkey. I need to carry my wood for this winter. I’ll bring it back, healthy and well fed, after tomorrow.” “I am so sorry," replied Hodja, "unfortunately I already lent him to my mother in law. He's away for a week to carry her water.” As Nasreddin finished saying this, the darn beast could find nothing better to do than to bray loudly from the stable. Hassan exclaimed: “Aaa! As I hear, Hoça, the animal is denying in his own voice what you just said.” At this Hodja turned red with anger and yelled: “Away with you, boor! If you take my ass's word over mine, we have n...

“We learn from history that people learn nothing from history” finds one philosopher. “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to live it again” adds another. Try at least to learn this: The change of kings is the joy of fools... This reminds me of a story: Leech attack CC C. Fisher The Mullah was sitting as usual, in his favourite spot by the watercourse under the old weeping willow, meditating deeply to the curious difficulty of bathing more than once in the same river. As he sat, a busy fox slipped into the water. A whirlpool almost drowned her. Then the currents tired her. Exhausted and drenched to the bone the poor beast was lucky enough to grab a hanging weed with her teeth. She kept afloat waiting to gather strength, enough to climb out the riverside. But she was really too weak to rise. This is when a bunch of leeches found the occasion good to stick unto the fox and feast merrily of her blood. Witness of such misfortune our good Mullah wis...

You gain great freedom in the mind when you multiply your points of  view. Most people are slaves of only one - and proud of it. poor creatures, little do they know that you are a host today and a stranger tomorrow, and then the world, the same world will look quite different. You may need to find a simple way to make them understand that they are not the navel of the Universe. This reminds me of a story: Hoca was sitting by the river, enjoying a small pot of halwa, when a horde of mounted archers thundered onto the other bank in a cloud of dust. It was led by one of Timur's captains, who shouted across the waters: "Ho! Stranger! How do I get to the other side?" To this Nasruddin - who felt no hurry to get in touch - hollered back promptly: "Why bother? You are already on the other side!" ... As he hastened away, out of arrow’s shooting distance he added: "Besides, I m no stranger, I live here!"

If you have a gift of doing things with words, learn to keep your mouth shut. When you feel witty remember that a good joke never won over an enemy but often lost a friend. The right word can save a life but a bright one can put it on the line. Treasure then the clever word and use it sparingly, at the time of need. This reminds me of a story: Nasreddin was at one time a hermit high on the mountain, where no tree endures, where his peace of mind was preserved from renown by the sharp wind and the rolling stones. In silence, he understood everything, and his wisdom grew so vast that he even knew that which he did not know. Two young princes thought to mock this notorious sage. "Let's go to him and try him. When we get there, you will hide a sparrow in your hands, behind your back. We will ask him what we brought. He will guess, maybe. But then we will ask, "Does it live?" If he says yes, you wring its neck. If he says no, we show it alive."...

They cannot cheat everybody, all of the time. They can only deceive some of the people, some of the time. And that is sufficient for staying in business. This reminds me of a story: The Hodja had seven monkeys. One morning he told them: "I will give each of you three figs in the morning and four in the evening. That will feed you for the day and there is no more." The angry monkeys started to scream. "All right", he said, "I will give you four figs in the morning and three in the evening." With this, the monkeys were appeased.