124 - A turban fit for a king

Once Nasrudin bought a really beautiful turban and decided to wear it to court. He hoped that the King would like the turban so much that he could sell it at a profit to him. As expected, the King admired the turban a lot.

"How much did you pay for that turban Mulla?" asked the King. "A thousand pieces of gold, your highness!" lied Nasrudin.

The King's wazir guessed what Nasrudin was trying to do and whispered in the King's ear, "Your Majesty, only a fool would have paid so much money for that turban. He is trying to trick you into buying it."

So the King asked, "But why did you pay so much money for that turban? Surely it i not worth so much?"

The Mulla replied, "Your Highness, I paid the money because I knew that only one king in the entire world would have the good taste to want to buy a turban like this one."

The King was so flattered that he ordered Nasrudin to be given two thousand pieces of gold in exchange for the turban.

Later, the Mulla met the Wazir and said, "Perhaps you know the value of turbans, but I know the weakness of kings!"



source: Stories from Here and There, Ekalavya Education Foundation - By: Sunil Handa - http://www.eklavya.org/storyhere.html