Nasruddin the Optimist

Nasruddin's neighbor saw him kneeling by the side of the lake, spooning something into the water. He was used to Nasruddin behaving strangely, but this was unusual even for Nasruddin. He decided to go investigate and see what Nasruddin was doing.
As the neighbor got closer, he saw that Nasruddin was spooning yogurt into the lake.
"Why are you spooning yogurt into the lake?" asked the neighbor.
"It's starter!" Nasruddin explained. "I am hoping to turn the whole lake into yogurt."
"But that's impossible!" said his neighbor.
"Yes, it's impossible," admitted Nasruddin. "But just imagine how wonderful it would be!"

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Inspired by: Nasreddin Hodja compiled by Alpay Kabacali, p. 7.
Notes: This story also appears in The Sufis by Idries Shah, free to read online at the Idries Shah Foundation.

I included this book in Tiny Tales of Nasruddin.