~ 122. What a Beggar Needs ~



Nasruddin was walking down the street when a beggar accosted him.
"I know you," said Nasruddin. "You like drinking coffee in the coffeehouse, don't you?
The beggar nodded. "Yes, I do."
"And the bathhouse? And drinking with your friends?"
The beggar kept nodding, and Nasruddin gave him a gold coin.
Nasruddin met a second beggar; he had overheard the first conversation.
"What about you?" asked Nasruddin. "The coffeehouse?"
"Never!" said the beggar.
"Bathhouse? Drinking?"
The beggar shook his head emphatically, and Nasruddin gave him a copper coin.
"I don't understand!" complained the beggar.
"Your needs are fewer," replied Nasruddin, smiling.



Inspired byThe Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin by Idries Shah, free to read online at the Idries Shah Foundation.
Notes: This is on page 6 of the book.



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