"Look at this tall tree!" they shouted. "We're too small to climb it, but maybe you can."
Nasruddin looked at the tree, smiled and said, "That would be fun. I'll try!"
So, Nasruddin took off his new shoes. Next, he tucked the shoes inside his belt. Then he began climbing.
"Wait!" shouted the boys. "Why are you taking your shoes with you?"
"This tree is so tall that it might lead all the way to heaven," Nasruddin replied, "and I'll need my shoes to walk around up there."
Inspired by: The Wit and Wisdom of Nasraddin Hodja by Nejat Muallimoglu, p. 116. The story also appears in The Sufis by Idries Shah, free to read online at the Idries Shah Foundation.
Notes: In some versions, Nasruddin simply warns the boys about the thieves, but I like the versions which have him talk about walking around up there in heaven. Shah gives it a nicely enigmatic ending: "Since this tree has not been climbed, how do I know that there is not a road up there?"
I included this book in Tiny Tales of Nasruddin, where it is story 87.
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