It happened once upon a time that Mullah Nasruddin – through a rare and unexplainable streak of good fortune – was able to employ a servant in his house. In addition to cooking and cleaning, it was the duty of the servant to answer the door if anyone knocked.

One day a beggar came to the door, and when the servant answered, the beggar said, “By your grace, good master, a little food for a poor hungry beggar.”

The servant said, “No, you’ll get nothing here,” and was about to close the door when the Mullah appeared and began to scold the servant.

“It’s not your business to answer such a request. You are not the master of the house, I am.”

When the beggar saw that he had asked the wrong person, he said to Nasruddin,”I beg your pardon for asking the wrong person, Mullah. Then, by YOUR grace, good master, a little food for a hungry beggar?”

“There,” said Nasruddin, “now you’ve asked the right person. And the answer is no.” And he closed the door.