One cold night the king called Nasreddin to him and said, “If you’re able to spend this night in the courtyard with only your shirt on, I will give you one hundred gold coins!”

In the courtyard Nasreddin saw a stone mill. He began to push it around, faster and faster. When dawn came, he was sweating all over himself.

The king got up and was surprised to see Nasreddin in high sprits. The king hated to lose one hundred gold coins, so he asked, “Was there a moon last night?”

“Yes.”

“Then our bargain is off,” said the king. “If there was a moon, it was warm. In that case even I could have spent the night outside!”

A few months later, the king and his men went hunting. It was hot summer and at the edge of the desert it was like a furnace. The king and his men were dying of thirst.

They turned toward Nasreddin’s house in the hope of getting some water. Nasreddin was sitting in the edge of his well when he heard the voice of the king, “Nasreddin, bring some fresh water! Be quick and serve us!”

“Please make yourself at home,” said Nasreddin.

“Where is the water?” cried the king.

“Right here, Your Majesty¹, you see?” Nasreddin pointed² to the well.

“You only show me the water but don’t give me a drink!” fumed³ the king.

“Your Majesty, if the rays of the moon can warm a person, the sight of water can satisfy his thirst.”

国王把纳斯雷丁叫到他的身边说：“要是你能只穿一件衬衣在院子里度过这一夜，我就送给你一百枚金币！”

纳斯雷丁在院子里看到一盘石磨，便开始推着石磨转，越转越快。当黎明来临时，他汗流浃背。

国王起床后，看到纳斯雷丁精神抖擞，就吃了一惊。国王不愿意失去一百枚金币，就问：“昨晚有月亮吗？”

“有。”

“那我们的交易无效，”国王说。“要是有月亮，天就很暖和。在那种情况下，就是我也能在外面过夜！”

几个月后，国王和他的随从们去打猎。那是一个炎热的夏天，在沙漠的边缘，天热得像火炉一样。国王和随从们渴得要死。

他们转身向纳斯雷丁家走去，希望搞点水喝。纳斯雷丁正坐在井沿上，突然听到国王的声音：“纳斯雷丁，端些干净水！快来伺候我们！”

“请不要拘束，”纳斯雷丁说。

“水在哪里？”国王叫道。

“陛下，就在这里，你看到了吧？”纳斯雷丁指着井说。

“你只是让我看了水，却没有让我喝！”国王发怒说。

“陛下，要是月亮的光线能给人温暖，那看看水也能解渴。”