One day a Frenchman came to Istanbul and appeared at the Sultan's palace. The Sultan greeted him cordially, and the Frenchman said that he would gladly accept the Muslim faith if someone could figure out his thoughts. The Sultan looked here and there for a suitable person, but found no one who could talk with the learned gentleman, much less guess his thoughts. Then someone called the Sultan Nasreddin-Khoja and added:
“If Nasreddin doesn’t guess right, then no one will!”
The Sultan immediately sent his servants for Nasreddin. They searched and searched for Nasreddin Khoja - all in vain. Every day in the morning Nasreddin sat on his donkey and drove it around Istanbul wherever he wanted, and that day he gave the donkey free rein - let him take it wherever he wanted. It was not long before the servants managed to find Nasreddin and convey to him the Sultan’s order to immediately appear at the palace. But then Nasreddin turned the donkey and drove it to the palace. Nasreddin did not eat anything for the whole day and was hungry like a wolf, and all because he relied on the mind of a donkey. And then a new misfortune arose: since the Sultan is calling, don’t expect anything good. Gloomy, he got off the donkey, tied it at the gate and went to the Sultan. The Sultan explained to Nasreddin what was required of him, Nasreddin swears and swears: I don’t know how to babble in French. But the Sultan’s henchmen do not give up, they persuade him to at least by signs explain himself to the Frenchman, and Nasreddin finally surrendered. Nasreddin went into a separate room and sat down on the sofa.
And then the Frenchman came and sat down next to Nasreddin. The Frenchman looked at his interlocutor and drew a circle on the floor with his hand, and Nasreddin took it and cut the circle in half with his palm. Then the Frenchman waved his fingers, showing how something was rising up from the middle of the circle, and Nasreddin seemed to sprinkle something on top of the circle. The Frenchman was amazed and pulled out an egg from his pocket, and Nasreddin took a piece of cheese and handed it to the Frenchman. The foreign guest jumped up and rushed to the Sultan.
- You guessed it! - he shouted. - You guessed all my thoughts! Now, if you like, you can convert me to Islam!
- How did this happen? - the Sultan was surprised.
- Here's how: I claim that the earth is round, and therefore I drew a circle on the floor with my hand. And Nasreddin divided my circle into two equal parts - half, they say, is occupied by water. I point with my hand from bottom to top: all sorts of plants grow on the ground, but Nasreddin depicted rain, saying that it comes from the sky and not a single plant can do without rain. I pulled out an egg, realizing that the earth resembled it in shape, and Nasreddin handed me a piece of cheese - the earth, they say, covered with snow, looks like cheese.
The Frenchman left, and the Sultan called Nasreddin Khoja to his place, praised him and asked him to tell how he managed to recognize the Frenchman’s thoughts.
“Nothing is simpler,” Nasreddin answered. “The Frenchman drew a circle in front of him, and he was bragging about how delicious his pogača was, and I, of course, divided the circle in half—give me half, I’m hungry too.” Here the Frenchman waved his hands - look, they say, how excellent pilaf is gurgling in my cauldron! And I seemed to add oil to the boiler - they say, don’t forget to add more oil! The Frenchman handed me an egg - admire what kind of scrambled eggs you and I will enjoy, and I pulled out a piece of cheese, as if I were saying - and have something to snack on!
The Sultan laughed at the wisdom of Nasreddin Khoja, endowed him with rich gifts and sent him away, but since then the saying has developed: they understood each other, like Nasreddin understood the Frenchman!
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru