Once it happened that Mullah Nasruddin went to the Turkish bath in a certain town, and for some reason the attendants there paid him very little attention. They gave him only a small, threadbare old towel and a robe with holes in it, and then they ignored him completely.

Nevertheless, when he left, Nasruddin gave the attendants a substantial tip.

A week later, Nasruddin came again to the bath, and the attendants treated him very differently. They gave him two thick towels, a fine new robe, and even offered him tea and Turkish delight.

This time, as he was leaving, Nasruddin gave the attendants a miserably small tip.

“But Mullah,” said one of them, “is this how you reward such good service? We treated you like a padshah!”

“Yes, you did,” said Nasruddin. “But this tip is for last week’s service. Last week’s tip is for today. So, we are even.”