It happened once that a man came to Nasruddin’s village, hoping to meet the Mullah. He had heard that he was clever, and as he thought he himself was very clever he wanted to challenge Nasruddin. He looked here and there in the village without success, so at last he spoke to a man he found leaning against a wall.

“Do you know how I could find this Mullah Nasruddin who is supposed to be so clever?”

The man thought for a moment, and then said, “He is difficult to find. I can look for him for you. But you will have to do my job while I go looking.”

“Your job?” said the man. “What job is that?”

“You see,” the other replied, “I have to lean against this wall so that it does not fall down. If you will do that for me, I will go and look for the Mullah.”

Therefore the man now leaned against the wall, and the other man, after checking his posture, said, “Be careful. Do not move, or the wall may come tumbling down.” Then he walked away.

The man stood leaning against the wall for a long time, but the other man did not come back. Finally some passersby, seeing a stranger leaning against the wall, asked him who he was and why he was standing there.

When he told them he was helping someone by holding up the wall, they asked him about the one who had gone away. The man described him, and they doubled up with laughter.

“That was the Mullah himself!” they said. “And he played a trick on you!”