The Best Artist
 
A despotic sultan who was blind in one eye invited three artists to paint his picture.
"If you do a bad portrait, I will punish you," he warned, " but if you do a good one I will reward you. Now start!"
The first artist produced a picture that showed the sultan as he was: blind in one eye.
The sultan had him executed for showing disrespect to his monarch.
The second artist showed him with both eyes intact.
The sultan had him flogged for trying to flatter him.
The third artist drew him in profile, showing only his good eye.
The sultan, pleased, rewarded him with gold and honours.

Sleepless Night
 
There was an old Iranian who was intensely proud of two things – his long, white beard that reached down to his chest, and his ability to sleep the moment his head touched the pillow.
One day, his 3-year-old grandson asked him how he arranged his beard when he slept: did it go under the blanket or did it remain above it?
The old man had never paid attention to this detail, and he confessed he didn't remember whether his beard remained above or went under the blanket. He promised to find out.
It was very cold that night. The old man got into bed and pulled the blanket over himself. Then he suddenly remembered his grandson's question.
He became acutely conscious that his beard was under the blanket. He lifted it from under the blanket, and placed it above it. This made him feel that something was not quite right. So he tucked the beard under the blanket again. But he soon felt it would be better if it were out. In and out went the beard; first under the blanket, then above it, then under once again. The old man spent a sleepless night.
The next morning the first thing he did was cut his beard to chin level, to the great joy of his daughter who, for several months, had been urging him to do just that.

Change of Mind
 
There was a sickly young girl who always seemed to be at death's door. Her neighbour was a widow, bent with age. Whenever she caught sight of the girl she would shake her head sadly and say: "Oh God, why do you torment that poor child...if you want a life take this old woman!"
One evening a bull in the village, put its head into a large black pot to get at some grain at the bottom, and then couldn't get its head out. Frightened and confused, it ran hither and thither, unable to see where it was going because its eyes were covered by the pot.
Meanwhile, the old woman we mentioned, was visiting her neighbour. She came out and as usual began shaking her head and saying that if God wanted a life he should take hers. Suddenly she became aware that a powerfully-built beast, apparently headless, was rushing at her.
"Yama has come for me!" she thought and was filled with terror.
"Mercy, my Lord, mercy!" she screeched, falling to her knees in front of the advancing bull. "Spare me. There's a sickly girl next door. Take her instead!"

The Sultan's Robe
 
In the last century, there lived a sultan who waged war tirelessly and finally made himself master of a largish desert.
"Surely I'm the greatest monarch in the world," he said to his vizier, one day. "What do the people say about me?"
"They're all praise for you, Your Excellency," said the vizier, "all except one man, Ali, a camel-driver by profession. He's always running you down."
"How dare he!" roared the Sultan. "Bring him here at once. I'll cut out his tongue!!"
When Ali was brought to the palace, he threw himself at the Sultan's feet.
"At last my dearest wish to see you has come true," he said, obsequiously. "I used to say nasty things about you so that I might be brought into your august presence."
"Why?" boomed the Sultan.
"So that I might recite the poem I have written in your honour, O Merciful One."
"Recite!"
Ali began to recite a poem his grandfather had taught him in his childhood. It proclaimed the greatness of Alexander, the Great but Ali deftly substituted the Sultan's name for Alexander's whenever the need arose.
The Sultan was flattered.
"Good poem," he said, when Ali had finished. "Describes me exactly. You deserve a reward. Choose from one of these magnificent saddles," and he indicated a pile of saddles, lying nearby.
Ali chose a donkey's saddle, and thanking the Sultan, bowed himself out of the palace.
The people from his village who were sure he would be executed, and were waiting for news about it, outside the gate, were astounded to see him.
"The Sultan let you go?" they asked, bemused.
"And why not?" he asked. "I recited a poem in his honour and he rewarded me with one of his best robes."
"The sultan gave you his robe!" They gasped. "Where is it?"
He showed them the donkey's saddle.

The Gift
 
Gopal Bhand was once taken to court by a man who claimed that he owned the land on which Gopal's house stood.
Gopal had the documents to prove that he owned the land but he knew that the judge who was to try the case was corrupt and could be bought. Gopal decided to take a gift for the judge.
At the hearing, the complainant stated his case and then taking out a fat wallet from one pocket transferred it to another in a slow and deliberate manner. The judge understood. He looked at Gopal as if to ask him if he could match the offer.
In answer, Gopal patted his own pocket. The judge was pleased to see that it was bulging. He could make out the outlines of two large objects in it and he felt sure they were gold ornaments.
He gave a verdict in Gopal's favour and called him to his chambers. Gopal went round to the judge's chambers and began to thank him for deciding the case in his favour. But the judge cut him short with an impatient gesture of his hand.
"The gift," he snapped. "Give me whatever you have brought for me!"
Gopal took out two large stones from his pocket and gave them to him.

The Man Who Loved Bread
 
A man eating in a restaurant called the waiter and complained that he had been given only one loaf with his meat dish.
"I like lots of bread," said the man. "Remember that next time."
The next time he came the waiter served him three loaves. "This is better than the last time," said the man. "But I would have liked more bread."
The next time he came the waiter served him five loaves but sill the man seemed unhappy. Later the waiter told the cook about the man. The cook said he would see to it that the man was fully satisfied the next time he came.
Two days later the man came again. The waiter alerted the cook who alerted the bakery with whom he had placed an order for a loaf 2ft wide, 3ft thick and 6ft long. The bakery delivered the loaf to the restaurant, and the cook and the waiter triumphantly carried the loaf to the customer. The customer stared at the loaf in disbelief.
"This is the last time I'm coming here!" he announced getting up angrily from his chair and throwing his napkin on the table. "I keep telling you I want more bread and here you are once again serving me just one loaf!"