It happened like this: one of Mulla Nasreddin’s friends, Abdullah, went on Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. He was an old man and had recently married a young girl. She was very beautiful. When he left, he was very worried. It was very likely that she would not be faithful to him. What to do? He ordered a chastity belt and put it on his wife. But where should I put the key? Taking it with you on Hajj would not be very good. This would burden his mind - as if he did not trust his wife. And the key would constantly remind him of his wife and her possible infidelity. He went to Nasrudin, his friend.
Nasreddin was already an old man. He was ninety-nine years old, and everyone knew that he was done with women. And when people are fed up with this, they begin to talk about abstinence. He blamed the young people, telling them: “You are wasting your life. It's a waste of energy and nothing more. This leads to nowhere."
His friend Abdullah came to him and said: “Nasreddin, I am in trouble. My wife is young and hard to trust. So I put a chastity belt on her - I locked my wife in it. Where should I put the key now? You have always respected temperance. You are my most faithful friend, so keep the key. I'll be back in three months."
Nasreddin said: “I am grateful to you for remembering me in this difficult moment. I assure you that the key could not have fallen into better hands. Your wife will be safe."
Abdullah left, having relieved the burden from his heart. There was no more danger: Nasreddin was ninety-nine years old. He revered temperance and preached celibacy for twenty years. Happy that everything worked out so well, he left. But an hour later he heard behind him the tramp of a galloping donkey, which was approaching him. Soon he saw Nasreddin, tired from the difficult journey and out of breath. Nasreddin shouted: “Abdullah, Abdullah, you gave me the wrong key!”
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru