It happened once upon a time that Mullah Nasruddin was sitting in the market with a friend, trying to sell some olives. For some reason, though, the market was quiet, and worse still, no one was interested in what the Mullah had to offer.

“You might as well close up and go home,” the friend advised him. You haven’t sold a single olive all day. No one wants them.”

“Everyone wants olives,” Nasruddin declared. “The only problem is, they don’t KNOW they want them.” Then he saw a woman walking past, and called to her. “Sister, welcome! Good day to you! Come and buy some olives, the best olives in the village!”

The woman shook her head. “Not today, Mullah,” she said, “I don’t have any money.”

“That doesn’t matter,” said Nasruddin. “You’re an honest woman. You can pay me later. Here, try one,” and to tempt her, he held out a jar of plump black olives.

But the woman again shook her head. “I can’t,” she said. “I am fasting.”

Nasruddin looked at her in astonishment. “Sister, why should you be fasting? Ramadan finished two months ago.”

“I know,” the woman replied, “but I broke the fast on one day, so I’m making up my debt today.”

“In that case, forget it,” said Nasruddin, firmly closing the olive jar. “If it takes you two months to repay a debt to the Almighty, who knows how long it would take you to repay a debt to me.”