It happened once upon a time that Mullah Nasruddin was working for the king, who was a very demanding employer. One day, the king said to Nasruddin, “Go to the farmer and get me apples. But they must be sweet! If the apples are not sweet, my guards will give you a beating! For every sour apple, a blow of the whip!”

Nasruddin bowed, took a basket and went to the farmer. “I want sweet apples,” he said.

“Mullah,” said the farmer, “you have come to the right place. Every single one of my apples is as sweet as honey!” And he took Nasruddin to his barn which was filled with beautiful, rosy apples. “Try one,” he said.

Nasruddin picked up an apple and bit into it. “Yes, you are right, it is sweet.” He dropped the apple in his basket and took another. But before he put it in his basket, he took a bite of this one as well.

“Yes,” Nasruddin said, “sweet.” And he dropped the second bitten apple in his basket.

When he took a third apple and bit into it, the perplexed farmer said, “But Mullah, do you mean to bite into every apple in your basket? What use is a basket of half-eaten apples?”

“It is of great use to my back,” said Nasruddin. “Every bitten apple is one less blow of the whip.”