A certain villager asked his wife to cook his favorite dish with nuts. He kept the nuts in a large vessel with a neck so narrow that his hand could barely fit through it.
This man went to the vessel to pick up nuts. He put his hand inside, grabbed a handful of nuts and tried to pull them out, but his hand wouldn’t go through. He pulled harder - his hand wouldn’t go through! He shook the vessel in rage - his hand wouldn’t go through, that’s all! His wife came running to his curses and lamentations. She tried to remove the vessel, but without success, although she pulled as hard as she could. The husband and wife were exhausted and sat down on the ground, filling the surrounding area with groans and complaints.
A Sufi passed by. Seeing what happened, he said:
“I can free you if you do exactly what I say.”
“I am ready to obey you, sir, just free my hand!” - he begged.
- Fine. First of all, stick your hand deeper into this pot.
The man was surprised at such strange advice, but followed it.
“Now let go of the nuts, fold your palm into a narrower boat, and then pull it out from there.”
The man pulled out his hand, his wife rejoiced, but he himself was not happy:
- Well, okay, my hand is free, but it’s empty! What about nuts and my favorite dish?
The Sufi took the vessel, ordered to place his palms and poured into them exactly as many nuts as needed. The man looked at the Sufi with increasing surprise:
- Eh, dear, you’re just a wizard! - he finally cried.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru