What's His Is Mine

Nasruddin prayed to God under the stars. "O God, I need money!"
As a joke, his neighbor tossed him some money.
"Praise God!" shouted Nasruddin.
The next day, the neighbor came for his money. "It was a joke!"
Nasruddin refused, so the neighbor took him to court.
Because Nasruddin's donkey was lame, he loaned Nasruddin a donkey. Because Nasruddin's cloak was torn, he loaned Nasruddin a cloak.
"Judge," said Nasruddin, "my neighbor thinks everything that's mine is his."
"Liar!" shouted the neighbor.
"Just ask whose donkey this is," said Nasruddin.
"It's mine!"
"And whose cloak?"
"Mine!"
Nasruddin won the case.


Inspired byMulla's Donkey and Other Friends by Mehdi Nakosteen, p. 72. The story also appears in The Sufis by Idries Shah, free to read online at the Idries Shah Foundation.
Notes: The story has another motif: Nasruddin prays for one hundred coins, and the neighbor throws out only ninety-nine; you can read that story here: A Gift from God.



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