One evening, Mulla Nasruddin was standing near a river. A man on the other side shouted out, “Hey! How can I get across the river?” “You are across!” Mulla shouted back. “Don’t be funny! Please help me!” pleaded the man. Feeling sorry for him, Mulla took a boat to the man. As he was ferrying the man across the lake, they spoke on various subjects and Mulla made a minor grammatical error. The man remarked, “Mulla, have you ever studied grammar?” “No,” Mulla admitted, “I have not covered that subject in depth.” “Well then,” the man replied. “You have wasted half of your life!” Several minutes later, Mulla turned to the man and asked, “Have you ever learnt to swim?” “No,” the man responded. “Well then,” Mulla replied, “You have wasted all your life, for there is a hole in the boat, and we are sinking!” When the man apologised, Mulla helped him out of the lake.
Mulla across the River
