ANNOYED

Nasreddin was looking for firewood for his wife. He climbed a tree and sat on a trunk while he was sawing it. A man was passing by the street beneath the tree. He saw Nasreddin was sawing the trunk. He said, “Watch out, Nasreddin. You will fall. You shouldn’t sit on the trunk you are cutting!”

Nasreddin thought that the man was just teasing him. He answered, “Am I so foolish that I believe you! You are not a fortune-teller, how do you know my future?”

The man said, “Everybody knows that you will fall if you sit on a trunk that you are cutting.”

But Nasreddin did not believe him. And the man walked away. A moment later, Nasreddin and the trunk fell together. He soon got up and ran after the man who had told him that he would fall down.

When he was behind the man, Nasreddin said, “Great! Your prediction is really accurate. I fell down along with the trunk.”

The man stopped and turned round to see Nasreddin. When they were walking side by side, Nasreddin said, “Now, tell me when I will die?”

The man, of course, could not tell him anything about it. He was not fortune-teller. But Nasreddin urged the man to tell him about his death. Finally, the man left annoyed and said, “You will die right now.”

As the man said that he would die soon, Nasreddin fell down in the street and made no movement. The man shook his body but he did not say anything or move any inch. Then the man left him in the street. He told his friends about it.

A moment later the other neighbours came and woke him up. Because he behaved like a dead man, then they brought him to his wife. His wife knew that her husband was not dead. But, Nasreddin behaved like a dead man. His wife asked her neighbours to put him to the cemetery.

On the crossroad, they quarreled about which way they should take. One of them said that they had to go straight ahead for about 10 metres before turning right and the rest said that they should turn left.

The quarrel was getting worse. Nasreddin who was in the coffin felt very annoyed to hear the foolish quarrel. He looked out of the coffin and said, “You all are fools. When I was alive, the shortest way to the cemetery is the one that turn right.”

A DONKEY THIEF

Nasreddin went to the market. He wanted to buy a donkey there. At the market he chose the best donkey and bought it. He loved the donkey so much that he did not ride on its back when he went home. He walked and pulled his donkey behind him. He did never know that two thieves were following him.

On the way home, one of the thieves untied the donkey so carefully that Nasreddin did not know about it. As the change, the thief put the tie around his friend’s neck. And he ran away with the donkey.
When Nasreddin arrived home, he was surprised to see that his donkey changed itself into a man.

“Who are you? Where is my donkey?” asked Nasreddin to the man angrily.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” said the thief, “I was the donkey.”

“I don’t believe you. How can a donkey change itself into a man?” said Nasreddin.

“Once I hurt my mother. And then she cursed me into a donkey. And I was sold at the market by my uncle. Now I become a man again because the person that bought me is a wise and good man like you,” the thief said.

Nasreddin said to the thief, “Now, go home. Don’t hurt your mother again.”

The thief thanked Nasreddin. He went away quickly.

Several days later, Nasreddin went to the market again to buy a donkey. And Nasreddin saw his lost donkey was being sold at the market among the other donkeys with the high price. Yes, the other thief sold the donkey again. Nasreddin came to the thief who sold the donkey. He did not speak to him, but did speak to the donkey.

He said, “Hey, young man, you never listen to good advice and never learn from experience. Now, you become a donkey again. But I don’t want to buy you.”

DESTINY IS KIND OF ME

One day Nasreddin went out of town. His wife washed his coat while she was waiting for him. She finished washing it at the afternoon, but Nasreddin had not come yet. Then his wife hung the coat on a rope in the front yard. When the evening came she forgot to take the coat.

At about 7 o’clock Nasreddin came home. Because he was very tired, he went to bed soon after having dinner. At midnight he woke because he heard something outside. He peeped out to see what was going on. Suddenly he was very surprised to see a shadow on the front yard. The moon light made the shadow just like a man. Nasreddin thought that it was a thief.

He took his old rifle quickly. After he loaded it with some bullets, he aimed at the shadow carefully. A shot was heard, the shadow jerked and fell down. Nasreddin was very glad because he shot the shadow accurately. He shouted happily and so loudly that his wife woke up.

“What’s wrong?” asked his wife.

“There was a thief near the fence. He wanted to break into our house. So I took my rifle quickly and shot him. But, don’t worry, he’s dead. Now, just sleep again. Tomorrow we will bury the corpse,” Nasreddin answered. The next morning, they got up early and went to the yard. They saw neither corpse nor drops of blood there. They only found Nasreddin’s coat that was washed by his wife the day before lying on the ground.

Nasreddin took it and examined it. There was a shot hole on the coat. He showed it to his wife.

“My wife, destiny is really kind of me. Imagine if I was inside this coat, I should have died already and you must have been a widow, now,” said he sadly.

WHERE IS MY SIXTH DONKEY?

One sunny morning, Nasreddin went to the market and bought six donkeys with him. He wanted to sell them. Nasreddin felt tired and then rode one of the donkeys.

A moment later he wanted to make sure that he did not lose any of the donkeys. Sitting on the back of his donkey. Nasreddin counted his donkeys but skipping the one he was riding on. So, he was confused because there were only five donkeys left, while he brought six donkeys from his house.

He got down from his donkey and started to count again. He was very glad at that time because the donkeys were six. He rode one of them again. Five minutes later he started counting the donkeys again. And he was confused again because he only got five donkeys.

Coincidentally one of his friend came and asked him, “Why do you look very confused, Nasreddin?”

Nasreddin answered, “Yes, I’m very confused. This morning I left my house and brought six donkeys with me. Because I was tired I rode on one of them. I counted my donkeys. There were only five donkeys. Then I got down from my donkey. I counted again and there were six donkeys. I was wondering and also glad because my lost donkey was back. Then I rode on one of them again. Now, I count them again and there are only five donkeys left”

His friend said, “There are six donkeys here.”
“No, there are only five, Let me count again, one, two, three, four, and five. There are only five!” Nasreddin answered.

“Yes, you just counted five donkeys, and you are riding on the other one and you didn’t count it. So there are six donkeys,” his friend explained.

SORRY, I’M WRONG

One evening Nasreddin attended a party in his town. The party ended at 10 o’clock at night. It was a long distance from the place where the party was held to Nasreddin’s house. If Nasreddin took the usual street, he would have come home very late. So, Nasreddin took a shortcut through a cemetery.

When he was in the middle of the cemetery, he saw a group of people riding horses toward him. Nasreddin thought that they were robbers who just started their robbery. As he was afraid of them, he ran and hid in a newly dug grave. The grave would be used to bury a corpse the next morning.

The group of horsemen saw a head stuck out from a grave. They were curious and stopped beside the grave.

“How are you?” said one of them.

Nasreddin turned round to see the men. He answered, “Don’t worry, I’m one of the dead bodies buried here.”

“Can a dead body wake up at night?” asked the man again.

“Yes,”

“What for?”

“To get fresh air,” Nasreddin answered.

Then men laughed together. One of them said, “Do dead men need air?”

“Yes, you are right. Sorry, I’m wrong,” Nasreddin answered. He lay down again in the grave.

TAKING A WALK

Nasreddin looked gloomy and weak. His wife said, “Why don’t you take a walk to get fresh air? It will make you better”

Nasreddin did what his wife suggested him. He took a walk. But he still kept on walking even though he had been walking for more than two days. One of his neighbour met hem and asked him, “Why don’t you go home? I think you have been walking for two days, Nasreddin.”

“Would you help me?” said Nasreddin.

“Sure,” answered the neighbour.

“Ask my wife how far I should take a walk to get better,” said Nasreddin. ‘I have been very exhausted.”

Meanwhile Nasreddin kept on walking. The sun started in the middle of the street. He approached it and picked it up. It was a mirror. He examined it closely. He was curious why the owner discarded it. As a matter of fact, it was still good.

Then he looked into the mirror, he saw a face on the mirror. Of course, it was his own face but he did not think so. Suddenly he looked sad and disappointed.

He said, “This is a bad mirror. That is the reason why the owner discarded it here.”

Then he threw the mirror back to the street, and he walked away.

It was almost midday. He was very thirsty. A moment later he looked glad as he saw a water pipe across the street. He walked there. He found that the end of the pipe was closed with a piece of wood. Because he could not help being thirsty, he placed his open mouth in front of the end of the pipe and pulled the wood. The stream of the water inside was very strong. When Nasreddin opened it, the water sprayed toward his face so strongly that he fell backward. Then he put the wood back to the end of the pipe quickly.

“Oh, now I know why they closed you with the wood. Because you always hit every man very strongly so that they had to close you with the wood. Yeah, you never learn from experience,” Nasreddin said and walked away.

DO EVERYTHING AT ONCE

Nasreddin was working for a rich man. One day his master called him and said, “Nasreddin, come on in”.

Nasreddin came in and sat in a chair. His master said further, “You are a very good man. But it’s a pity that you are so slow in doing anything. You never do something at once. If I, for example, ask you to buy three eggs, you will go to the shop and go home with one egg. Then you go for the second egg and so forth”.

“I’m sorry, Sir, I’m a fool. I won’t the same thing again in the future. I’ll do everything at once.

Several days later, his master was sick. Nasreddin was asked to get a doctor.

When he came back, his master was surprised because he did not only get a doctor, but also many other men. He brought all into his master’s bedroom.

“Excuse me, Sir. I got them already”, he said.

“Got them? Who are they? I just asked you to get a doctor”, asked his master.

Then Nasreddin explained, “Excuse me, Sir. A doctor usually gives us a prescription. Here I get a medicine man who will make the medicine prescribed for you. And the medicine man, of course, will make the medicine from roots of plants. Here I get someone who sells the ingredients for such medicine. I also get a coal seller, because usually we boil the medicine first. And it needs coal.”

“Who is the last?” said the master. He saw one more person in the room that had not been introduced yet.

“There is also a possibility that the doctor cannot help us. You may die. So I get a grave digger. Sir, I do it at once”.

LOOKING FOR A RING

There was a toolshed beside Nasreddin’s house. The shed, where he kept his tools, had no window at all. So, it was always dark inside although it was at noon. But there was a lamp at the corner outside.

One night Nasreddin went into the toolshed to get a ladder. When he was taking the ladder from its place, he dropped his ring. He put the ladder back and went out soon.

Outside he started looking for the ring. He could not find it even he has been searching for it for a quite long time. His friend saw him searching for something. He approached him and said, “What are you looking for, Nasreddin?”

“I’m looking for my ring. I just dropped it”, he answered while he continued searching.

“Let me help you. Anyway, where did you drop it?” asked his friend.

“Inside the shed”, answered he. His right hand pointed the shed.

His friend was surprised and said, “Why don’t you look for it inside the shed?”

“Are you kidding? Inside the shed it was very dark. I cannot see anything there. How can I find it? While it is very bright here because of the lamp. So I may see my ring here.” explained Nasreddin.

THE GOD’S PUMPKINS

Nasreddin wanted to plant pumpkins. He spread pumpkin seed in his fields. He told his wife, “I will plant them in two gardens. One garden is for us, the other is for God. I will sell the harvest of God’s pumpkins and give the money to orphanage and the poor people as our alms.

“Amen”, said his wife.

Then he planted his own pumpkin seeds on the very fertile garden but he planted the God’s pumpkin seeds in the arid infertile garden. Several months later Nasreddin was disappointed to see his pumpkins did not grow well although he had planted them in the fertile garden. Many of them even died. On the other hand, he saw that the God’s pumpkins could grow well and had much more fruits.

Nasreddin decided to steal the God’s pumpkins. The following night he prepared a big sack and broke into the God’s garden. There he picked 20 big pumpkins and put them into the sack.

So far, he never realized that he has been followed by five men. They always kept an eye on him. When Nasreddin tried to find a rope to tie up the suck, he left the sack for a while. Quickly the five men stole the sack that was full of big pumpkins.

A moment later Nasreddin went back. He was very frightened to find that his sack was missing. Soon, he ran home. He said to his wife, “He caught me red-handed. He had caught me red-handed while I was stealing His pumpkins”.

SAVING THE MOON

Nasreddin was walking home alone. The evening was coming and it was getting darker. Nasreddin though it was the time for a Moslem to take a pray. So he looked for some water to wash his face. Unfortunately, he only found a well near the street.

He looked into it to see whether there was any water. He was very surprised to see that the moon was there. Actually, it was the shadow of the moon. He though that the moon was lost in the well. And, therefore, he thought it was very dangerous because the night would be completely dark.

“I have to save the moon”, he thought, “If, I don’t, it will stay there and the whole world will be dark this night”.

Then he looked for a pole but he could not find any instead, he only found a long rope. He held one end of the rope and dropped the other one into the well.

“Hold the rope firmly and I will pull you up.” He said.

Unfortunately, the rope got entangled with a big stone in the bottom of the well. So, Nasreddin had to work hard to pull the rope up. He thought that he pulled the moon. He could hardly pull the rope with the stone.

When the stone was about to come near the lip of the well, it fell down again to the bottom of the well.

Because he lost his balance. Nasreddin fell backward with the rope in his hands. At that time he saw the moon was shining in the sky.

Nasreddin smiled happily and said, “Finally I can save you. Now the whole world will not be dark any longer”.

THROUGH THE BACK DOOR

One morning Nasreddin and his friends had a chat at a cafe. After a while they said that they were very hungry. Soon Nasreddin invited them to have breakfast at his house half on hour later. Then Nasreddin went home.

At home Nasreddin told his wife that he had invited his friends to come and have breakfast there. His wife is very upset because they had noting to cook.

“Why did you invite them to have breakfast here? We don’t have anything to cook”, his wife complained.
“Sorry, I didn’t remember it”, said Nasreddin.

Then they saw from a distance that Nasreddin’s friends were coming. He went out through the back door and hid behind the house. A moment later the guests knocked at the door. His wife opened the door and said that Nasreddin was out.

“But I saw he was here just now”, said one of the guests.

Nasreddin’s wife was so confused that she could not answer. Nasreddin heard it. He felt a pity on her. Then he said through the back window, “You are right. But I can go out through the back door, though”.

Teaching a Cow to Read

One day King Aaron sent one of his guards to call Abunawas.

“Abu, you are supposed to see the king right now,” said the guards to Abunawas.

Abunawas followed the guard to the palace. After sitting there for a while he asked, “What should I do, Your Majesty?”

“I ask for your help, Abu. Everybody knows that you are a very smart man. Therefore, I think you can help me teach my cow to read. If you cannot, I’ll punish you!”

Abunawas had no choice. He accepted the order and took the cow home. As he arrived home, he tied the cow at the palm tree behind his house.

In the next morning he went to the back yard with a rattan stick. He hit the animal again and again. The cow mooed again and again. He kept hitting it while saying, “You, the king, or I?”

He did it every morning. More and more people knew what he did. One day the news reached to the king. King Aaron was angry to hear it. He sent a guard to call Abunawas.

“Abu, why don’t you give me a report on your duty?” asked the king when Abunawas was sitting in front of him.

“I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. I was so busy teaching the cow to read that I forgot to report. Every morning and afternoon I teach it to read,” answered Abunawas.

“Are you successful?” asked the king.

“Not very much, Your Majesty.”

“I heard that you hit the cow every morning and afternoon. Why did you do that?” the king asked.

Abunawas kept silent.

“People said that you didn’t teach the cow to read. You only said three words to it, ‘You, the King, or I’. What do you mean? You have to explain that to me!” said the king furiously.

Abunawas lifted his head and said, “The cow is an animal. No matter how well I teach it, it won’t be able to read. I said, ‘You, the King, or I’ because I want to make the cow understand. Somebody must be wrong. It may be the cow, ‘you’, the King, or I myself,” answered the smart man.

“What do you mean by ‘somebody must be wrong’?” asked the king again.

“If the cow cannot read, one possibility is the cow is wrong. It is too foolish! The second possibility is the king is wrong. He knows that animal cannot read, but he orders me to teach it to read. The third possibility, I am wrong because I cannot teach an animal to read,” answered Abunawas.

The king was silent. He realized that his order was really impossible to do. Abunawas had shown it in his own unique way.

“Why did you hit the cow. You can say the three words without hitting it,” asked the king. Now he spoke more calmly.

“I think every judge will not dare to say that the king is wrong. Therefore, I hit the cow with the hope that it will die soon. When it dies, there will be no more problem for me. I don’t have to teach it to read and you cannot punish me.” The smart men answered.

The king was really speechless at that time. Abunawas was right.

For a long time nobody spoke. Then Abunawas took leave for home.

“You are right, Abu. I take my order back. You can have the cow. You can sell it, keep it, or slaughter it, but don’t hit it,” said the king.

UNKNOWN

Nasreddin was visiting a city that he had never visited before. He felt that nobody knew him. Then he walked along the street with the hope he might meet some of his acquaintances. But nobody greeted him. He was very sad.

He finally came to the market. It was just the same nobody knew him. He walked into a furniture shop. There he was welcome nicely by the salesman.

The salesman asked him warmly, “What can I do for you, Sir! You’re looking for a bed, chair…?”

“Well, well! Wait a minute,” said Nasreddin, “First, I want to ask you some question”.

The salesman was very glad. He thought that Nasreddin wanted to ask something about the furniture.

“Did you see me when I walked into this shop?” asked Nasreddin.

“Yes, Sir, of course”, answered the salesman.

“Have you ever met me before” said Nasreddin further.

“No, Sir, Never”.

“Well, how do you know that the person who walked in is Nasreddin and not someone else?”

ONE WEEK’S SALARY

Every Saturday Nasreddin went to the market to buy the household’s need. He put the goods in a big basket. But, he was not able to carry the heavy basket since he was only an old man. Instead, he asked someone else to do it for him and gave him a suitable payback.

When Nasreddin was on the way home from the market, one day, he walked in front of the man helped him carry his basket. Nasreddin did not realize that the man had run away and brought all the goods.
The next Saturday, Nasreddin was going to the market. His friend said, “Nasreddin, look at him! He is the man who stole your basket last week”.

Nasreddin, however, hid behind a small shop instead of catching the man. He stayed there until the man stealing his basket had left the market. His friend was wondering and asked, “What are you doing there?”
He said, “The man has been carrying my heavy basket for a week. I am afraid he will ask for his salary. I do not have enough money to pay him the amount of money for the whole week. Even the basket and the goods are not sufficient to pay him”.

Investigating the Moon

King Aaron gave an impossible mission that day. He asked Abunawas to go to the moon.

“Going to the moon?” asked Abunawas.

“Yes, Abu. I know you are a smart man. You must be able to go to the moon,” said the king.

“Okay, I’ll go there tomorrow evening, Your Majesty,” answered Abunawas quickly.

The king was surprised. He ever expected to get such certain answer. He asked, “Where will you go from?”

“From my house,” answered the smart man.

“All right, I’ll go there to see you go to the moon tomorrow evening,” said the king.

The next evening the king and his ministers went to Abunawas’ house. The full moon shone brightly that evening. Stars were scattered all over the sky.

When the king and his ministers arrived there, they could not find Abunawas at home. They just met his wife.

Where is your husband, Abunawas?” asked the king to Abunawas’ wife.

“He is just leaving for the moon. Your Majesty,” answered the woman. “He said that he would come back soon.”

The king and the ministers looked at each other. Then one of ministers asked, “How did he leave for the moon?”

“He climbed the palm tree over there.”

“How will he come back?” asked the king.

“He will come back through the palm tree also,” answered Abunawas’ wife.

“Where is the palm tree?”

“Over there,” replied her, pointing her forefinger to the palm tree in the yard.

The king saw a black figure getting down from the tree.

“Is that you, Abunawas?” asked the king.

“Yes, it’s me, Your Majesty, he answered.

“Where do you come from?”

“I’ve just investigated the moon.”

“Did you investigate the moon from the top of that palm tree?” asked the king.

“No,” Abunawas answered. When he reached the ground he said, “The tree is just a ladder through which I went to the moon.”

The king just smiled when he heard Abunawas’ answer.

“So you have really stepped on the moon and seen the things there?” asked the king.

“Yes, I have,” Abunawas answered shortly.

“What did you see there?”

“The land and mountains. There were no plants.”

“All right, if you really went there. Who are the witnesses? Who saw you going up to the moon, walking there, and coming back to the earth?” asked the king smiling.

Unpredictably Abunawas smiled hearing the question. I’ll give you not only three witnesses, but tens or even thousands of them,” said Abunawas surely.

“Who are they?” asked the king.

Abunawas pointed his finger to the sky.

“The stars were the answer, the king laughed. “Why didn’t you wait for us to witness your going to the moon?” the king asked.

“You are too late, Your Majesty. I can only go to the moon at certain time.”

A Miraculous Palm

The King Aaron called Abunawas to come to the palace. He would give him impossible mission.

“Abu, I want a miraculous palm,” said the king.

“Your Majesty, what do you mean by a miraculous palm?” asked Abunawas surprisedly.

“The palm which grows well and gets five centimeters higher everyday.”

“No pal can grow that speed, Your Majesty,” said Abunawas.

“I know you are a smart man. You had to carry out that order.

The next morning people saw a small palm tree grew in the palace square. At first people did not pay attention to it. As days gone by, they started to wonder about the tree that grew by around five centimeters each day. Soot the news spread all over the country.

When Abeydron heard the news, he did not believe it.

“I must be able to find out the trick,” he said to himself.

At night Abeydron stayed in the palace square to see what was happening. Around midnight he saw Abunawas came with a palm tree on his hands. He saw Abunawas pulled out the old and replaced it with the new one.

Abeydron tried to go secretly. Unfortunately he stumbled over a stone. He fell down. This attracted Abunawas’ attention.

“What are you doing here, Abeydron?” asked Abunawas to him.

“I just think you may need my help to take care of the palm!” said the minister.

At that time he saw that Abunawas had thrown away the small palm. So, he decided not to report the case to the king because he had no proof.

Abunawas himself realize that Abeydron had already known what he did. He must be able to find another way to solve the problem. The next day in the morning he walked to the palm tree seller’s shop. Before arrived there, he saw Abeydron bought a very small palm tree. Abunawas decided not to meet Abeydron. He just watched over him from a distance, and then he went to the palace.

“Abu, I’ve heard about your palm tree!” said the king. “But I will not believe it before I prove it myself.”

“Why don’t you see it now, Your Majesty,” asked Abunawas.

“I’m very busy now,” the king answered.

Falling to ask the king to see the palm tree, he asked for some guards to watch the palm tree.

“Why should they watch it?”

“It’s not an ordinary palm tree. If somebody touches it at night, it will lose its miracle,” said Abunawas.

Then the king sent three guards to him in the evening.

“You watch the miraculous palm tree carefully. You don’t have to stand bay it all night. Just watch from the distance. Arrest anybody who tries to touch the plant. Because when somebody touches it at night, it will lose its miracle,” said Abunawas to the guards.

Around midnight a man walked quickly to the palm tree. He brought a small palm tree. He pulled out Abunawas’ palm tree and replaced it with the smaller one quickly. At that time the guard caught him.

“You’re under arrest!” said one of the guards.

At the same time Abunawas came over. They brought Abeydron to the king.

“What’s the matter Abu, It’s midnight!” said the king.

“I’m sorry Your Majesty. The miraculous palm tree had shown its miracle for four days. It grew five centimeters each day, but Minister Abeydron pulled it out just now!”

“Did you Abey?” asked the king.

“No, no...” Abeydron answered.

“We caught him red-handed, Your Majesty,” said one of the guards.

Exploring the Sea

One Morning King Aaron called the smart man, Abunawas, to the palace again. He said, “Today I have another mission for you, Abunawas,” said the king.

“What should I do, Your Majesty?” asked Abunawas impatiently.

“Do you know that we have a wide gulf nearby?” asked King Aaron.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Abunawas answered.

“Good! Too bad that nobody has ever swum across the gulf. I wonder, is that possible for a man to swum across the gulf? How many days will he take to get to the other side of the gulf? Abu, I need you to answer my curiosity. I want you to take this mission as an honour duty”.

Abunawas was very surprised. “Your Majesty, I’m not a good swimmer,” he said.

“I know you are not a good swimmer, but everybody knows you are the smartest man in the country. You must be able to do so,” answered the king.

“Yes, I’ll do it, Your Majesty,” grumbled Abunawas as he walked out.

Then he took a walk to the beach. He looked at the wide gulf. Then he sat down under a palm tree. He was trying to get ideas to solve his impossible mission. At that time he saw children’s clothes. They were piled up on a big rock beside him.

“Where are the children? They must be swimming on the beach,” he talked to himself. Then suddenly he shouted, “I’ve got an idea!”

He stood up and walked home. He got up early the following day. He soon went to the beach. He smiled and took off his dresses and his ring. He put them on the sand. He, put off his shoes, and then laid them beside the dresses. He went back home.

About one hour later the king and his minister arrived at the beach. They smiled because they were sure that Abunawas would fail to do the king’s assignment.

“Where is he?” asked the king. “He said that he would have been here by now.”

“Maybe he escaped out of the country. How can a man swim across this wide gulf?” said one of the ministers.

They walked along the beach. When they were near the palm tree, King Aaron saw something on the sand. “What’s that?” he said.

                           

They walked quickly to the piling stuff the king saw. “Whose clothes are these?” said the king wonderingly.

The king and the ministers examined the clothes. When the king lifted the shirt, something dropped down. He took it and was surprised as he knew that it was Abunawas’ ring. He remembered that he gave the ring to Abunawas several weeks ago.

“This is Abunawas’ ring,” he answered. “Where is he?”

Abeydron, one of his ministers, shouted to call Abunawas many times. Nobody appeared. The king and the ministers did not say anything for a moment.

“Is it possible that Abunawas is swimming across the gulf now?” asked the King Aaron softly as if asking for himself.

Abeydron laughed loudly. “Abu dares to swim across such a wide gulf?” he said cynically. “These may belong to somebody else.”

“Okay, let’s now go to Abunawas’ house and prove it,” said the king.

The king and the minister walked to Abunawas’ house. Abunawas’ wife said that her husband left the house in the morning the day before.

“Yesterday he told me that he would swim across the gulf. He said that Your Majesty ordered him to do so. Actually I did not let him go. Everybody knows that he is not a good swimmer,” said the woman sadly.

At that time a palace guard came and reported, “Your Majesty, Abunawas was found!”

The king was very happy to hear the news. He asked the guard how he was found. The guard told him the story.

In the late afternoon, three fishermen on the beach, at the other side of the gulf saw a man swimming. When they were close to the man, the recognized that it was Abunawas Because Abunawas looked very tired, they helped Abunawas reach the beach. Not long after that, he collapsed. The news spread very quickly and reached the guard.

Not long after that, the king and several guards went to the beach. The king sat down beside Abunawas, “Abu, Abu!” said the king while shaking Abunawas’ body.

Abunawas opened his eyes slowly. King Aaron was very glad. He held the smart man’s body tightly. He looked very sorry for causing his beloved citizen to suffer.

Abunawas smiled slightly when the king hugged him. “You are great Abu.”

Moving the Mosque

One day King Aarong spoke in front of his people. "After having Friday prayer tomorrow afternoon, you should not go home. I will make a very important announcement."

"The place around our mosque is very noisy. So, I would like to move our mosque to another location. Anybody who can move the mosque will get a lot of prizes."

Nobody took the offer. The king repeated the announcement many times. Still, nobody spoke. The king looked at the people one by one. His eyes tried to find Abunawas. When he saw him, he asked, "Abu, what about you?"

Abunawas was surprised. But, finally he said, "I'll move the mosque, but I have a condition, Your Majesty," said he.

"What is it?" asked the king.

"I'll move the mosque the following Friday, if you hold a feast for us," said the smart man.

Nobody spoke. They looked at Abunawas unbelievably. They thought that the task was impossible. They could not imagine how a man could lift up and carry a big mosque.

The following Friday, a lot of people were gathering in front of the mosque. They just finished doing the Friday prayer. They joined a big feast there. Everybody was happy.

"Abunawas, this is the time you do your job," said the king. He continued speaking to the people, "You all are here to witness an extraordinary thing today. Abunawas will move the mosque to its new place there."

Abunawas cleared his throat and said, "Brother, King Aaron gave me an order to move the mosque to the orther side of the palace square."

The crowd mad some noise expressing their disbelief on what they just heard. One of them shouted, "How will you lift it up, Abu?"

Abunawas looked at the man. He smiled and said, "I will carry it on my shoulder."

"Okay, Abu. Do it now," shouted King Aaron over the noise.

The crowd was silent. Nobody dared to speak loudly.

Abunawas stepped forward to the people. He stood with his legs apart. He bowed to pull his trousers up. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Then he walked to the mosque. Hundreds of people, including the king and the ministers followed him.

When Abunawas came to the side of the mosque, he stopped and murmured something inaudible. Many people took a deep breath.

Abunawas turned to the people and said, "Brother, usually when I bring something heavy, I ask for a help to somebody to put it on my shoulder. The mosque is very heavy. Please help me. Lift it up and put in on my shoulder!"

Everybody was surprised. They just looked at each other.

"Gentlemen, there are around two hundreds of you here. You've just had a big feast! You must be very strong. Please help me!" said Abunawas again.

Suddenly one of the ministers said, "Abu, are you crazy? We will not be able to lift it up!"

"Yes, we won't" said another one.

More and more people shouted the same thing.

Abunawas said to the king, "It's not my fault not to move the mosque, Your Majesty. The people don't want to help me!"

The king smiled bitterly as he heard Abunawas' words.

Supernatural Power

One day King Aaron called Abunawas to the palace. He asked, “Have you ever heard the story of a man with supernatural power, Abu?”

“Of course, His Majesty. With such power, a person will not suffer any pain nor be hurt,” Abunawas answered.

“That’s right. Today I assign you to look for a charm. People say with a charm any person will not suffer any pain. No matter how people try to hurt him, he will not suffer,” said the king.

Abunawas was quiet for a moment. He thought about the duty for some minutes. Then he said, “Tomorrow I’ll get it” Abunawas said.

This answer made many people surprised.

“Tomorrow?!!” asked the king

“Yes, tomorrow, Your Majesty,” Abunawas answered.

Then Abunawas went home. In the following day, exactly at noon, he went to the palace again.

“Have you got the charm, Abu?” asked the king.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Could you show me?”

“Here it is,” said Abunawas. He took out a piece of white cloth. “If anybody ties this cloth around his waist, he will get a supernatural power. Nothing will hurt his body.

“How can I believe that? I need a proof, Abu?” said the king.

“It’s easy, Your Majesty. I tie it around your waist. Let the guards hit you and you will not feel pain,” said Abunawas.

The king was surprised. “No, Abu. Why don’t you try it to yourself?”

“No, Your Majesty. If I do it myself and let people hit me, I can tell a lie. I just can say I don’t feel any pain although I suffered very much. That’s why I need somebody to try it out,” said Abunawas.

There was silence before the king asked, “So, how will you prove it, if I don’t want to try it out?”

“Let’s try on a soldier,” said Abunawas.

The king did not agree with Abunawas’ idea, because the king did not believe that it a real charm. Abunawas did not argue the king and only said, “I have my own soldier.” Then he went out to the palace square where several people gathered.

Abunawas walked toward a tree grew on the palace square. Some people soon stood around him. He tied the cloth around the tree. Suddenly he took a piece of paper out of his pocket. It was written on it the word “SOLDIER”.

Next, he stretched the paper and showed it to the people. He asked, “Do you know what it is?”

The people were confused. Some of them said, “Paper.” Some other said, “Soldier.”

Abunawas held the paper with his left hand, and pointed the word with his right hand. Then he asked the same question. “Do you know what it is?”

“SOLDIER!” said the people together.

“What is it?” repeat Abunawas.

“SOLDIER!” they shouted together.

Abunawas smiled and said, “All right, I put this soldier under the tree and I tie it around the tree using that piece of cloth.”

Abunawas slipped the paper between the white cloth and the tree. He said to the people again, “Now, throw anything you like to that soldier!”

The people were confused. Then Abunawas gave an example. He took a stone and threw it to the piece of paper emotionally. Soon other people did the same too.

Abunawas quietly walked to the king and whispered, “You see, Your Majesty. That soldier doesn’t complain at all. He feel no pain!”

Draining off the Sea

The King Aaron was called Abunawas to the palace again. The king greeted him warmly. He said "Abu, you are very great. You are smart man"

"Thank you, Your Majesty"

"Our sea has been polluted. We wil be able to clean it up when it is dry. Now I want you to drain off the sea," said the king.

Then Abunawas went home. On the way he saw some children look for fish in a small stream by the street. The drained off a small hole by the stream with a pail. Abunawas smiled. He got an idea.

Early the next morning it was very crowded around the palace. A lot of people dug several big holes around the palace. Some guards asked for explanation to Abunawas, but they were ignored. the people kept on digging the holes.

the guards notified the king about the strange happening around the palace.

"What's the matter?" asked the king.

"Abunawas and his friend dig many holes around the palace." reported one of the guards.

"Why don't you stop them?" asked the king.

"They ignored us. You have to see it yourself, Your Majesty," said the other guard.

Then the king went out of the main building to the yard. He was surprised when he saw the palace fence nearly fall down. "Bring Abunawas here," he shouted to one of the guards.

The guard ran to Abunawas. "Abu, Abu ... the king calls you!" he shouted.

"Dig deeper! Deeper!" Abunawas kept giving orders as if he had not heard anything.

The king saw Abunawas did not pay any attention to the guard. He walked toward him himself.

"Abu, Abu ... Stop!" shouted the king.

Abunawas pretended to be surprised. He paid homage and said, "Yes, Your Majesty." Then he asked his friends to stop digging.

The king said, "What are you doing, Abu?" Don't you know that you almost destroy the palace? I can punish you right now!"

"Your Majesty, I just do your order," answered Abunawas.

"I've never ordered you to destroy my own palace. Tell me what you are doing?" said the king.

"We're making a dam"

"A dam? Waht is it for?" asked the king.

"Yesterday you ordered me to drain up the sea. The dam is for the sea water. If I drain up the sea and don't make any dam for the water, there will be a big flood in this country," answered Abunawas. "So, today we make the dam and tomorrow we will drain the sea!".

The Sun in the Pail

The King Aaron gave another impossible task again to Abunawas that day. He said, "Abu, in this summer, the sun is very very hot. If you can wrap the sun, you'll help all people."

Abu was just silent. Then the King said again, "I want you to wrap the sun by tomorrow!"

Abunawas could not refuse the order. He looked confused.

"What time will you take the order, Abu?" asked the king.

Abunawas was silent. The king repeated the question.

After a quite long silence he answered, "Around midday, Your Majesty!"

Then the king ordered all the ministers to come to the palace the next day around twelve o'clock.

The next day at twelve o'clock many people gathered in the palace. They wanted to see how Abunawas wrapped the sun. When Abunawas came there, the king asked him directly, "How will you do it, Abu?"

"I need a pail of water and a big leather bag. Your Majesty, There must be no leak on the bag," said the smart man.

Then the king asked his guards to get a pail of water and a big leather bag.

Not long after that the guards brought in the things. They gave them to Abunawas.

After receiving them, Abunawas went to the palace square with a pail of water. He put in the middle of the square. He looked into the pail. The water was very clean. He saw the reflection of the sun in the water. Then he went back to the king and the ministers.

"Your Majesty, I have caught the sun. I put it in the pail," said Abunawas.

The King smiled and asked, "How can you prove it, Abu?"

Abunawas asked one of the minister to go to the middle of the square and to look into the pail. He asked the minister when he came back, "What did you see?"

The minister answered, "The sun!"

The other ministers talked to each other. They did not believe the minister who just saw the sun in the pail.

"Abu, can I see the sun?"

"Go ahead," answered Abunawas.

So, the minister went to see the sun in the pail. When he came back, he told the other that he saw the sun  in the pail.

"Do you want to prove it yourself, Your Majesty?" asked Abunawas to the king.

The king smiled. He knew Abunawas try to release himself from the impossible task. He said, "No, Abu. Now wrap it!"

Abunawas was took the big leather bag. He went to the middle of the square. He opened the bag and put it on the ground. Next, he lifted the pail and poured the water into the bag. He closed the bag and ran to the king.

I have wrapped the sun, Your Majesty," he said and put the bag in front of the king.

"I still see the sun shining in the sky, Abu," said the king.

"Your Majesty, your ministers told us that they saw the sun in the pail. And I poured the water into the bag. So, the sun is in the bag now," argued Abunawas.

"Abu look outside. The sun is shining in the sky!" the king argued also.

"Yes, Your Majesty. But it is the second sun."

"The second sun? There is only one sun in the world!"

"You're right, Your Majesty. There is only one sun in the world. So, when I put it into the bag, the whole world was in total darkness. So, God replaced it with the new one," Abunawas argued convincingly.

The king could not argue any further. Then he walked to the bag and opened the bag. He did not see the sun in the bag. Then he said, "Abu, there is no sun in the bag. Where is the sun you just wrapped?"

"Your Majesty, there are two suns now. The sun in the bag feel guilty because I can catch it. It will show itself only if it see the second sun," said Abunawas.

"What do you mean?" asked the king.

Abunawas did not answered the question. He took the bag and brought it outside. He opened it under the sun. After a moment he shouted, "it's here, Your Mejesty!"

Six Speaking Donkeys

One day King Aaron called Abunawas. He assigned him to do impossible mission.

"Abu, I want six speaking donkeys with beard. I give you a week. If you cannot get the animals, I'll punish you."

Abunawas was confused. He went home. He stayed home the whole day to think about the mission. On the seventh day he went to the city square where he could meet a lot of people.

Any time he met a person with beard, he asked him, "Hi, young man. What's the day?"

Any of those persons who could answer his question correctly would be allowed to go, but for those who could not would be asked to follow him. Finally, he got six person with wrong answers.

"What do you want from us, Abu?" asked one of them.

Abunawas didn't answer the question, he asked another question instead. "What's the day?"

The man answered, "Thursday."

"Fool, it's Wednesday," said another.

"No, it's Monday!" said another.

"Okay! You are now confused, Tomorrow we'll go to see the king. He'll tell us what day it is," said Abunawas to calm them down.

Abunawas then asked them to go to his house. He told them that the king was humorous man. He likes jokes. So, he asked them to answer the king's question jokingly.

The following day, Abunawas and the six men went to the palace. The king and the ministers had been there for a moment waiting for Abunawas. As he saw Abunawas entering the palace, he asked. "Abu, have you got the six speaking animals?"

Abunawas whispered to them, "See, how humorous is the king?

The king repeated the question.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Here they are!"

"Abu, what are you saying?" The king asked in a surprise tone.

"Here they are, Your Majesty."

"They are human beings, not animals!"

"Ask them about the day," said Abunawas.

So the king asked them the name of the day one by one. None of them answered correctly. The king wondered how the men were so foolish. He said, "You are foolish like donkeys!"

"Yes, you are right, Your Majesty," said Abunawas quickly.

"Yes, yes,  you are right, Your Majesty," said the six men.

After that, the king asked again, "Abu, where are the six speaking donkeys?"

"Your Majesty, you just said, they are donkeys, None of them can correctly answer your simple questions!" answered Abunawas.