Myth-Folklore Unit: Tales of Nasruddin (100 Words)

Overview. This reading unit — good for one week, or two weeks — is a collection of stories about Nasruddin told as 100-word stories. It is based on Tiny Tales of Nasruddin which contains two hundred of these tiny 100-word stories. Nasruddin is a famous "wise-fool" known throughout the Middle East and the wider Islamic world. He's a trickster, a jester, and a teacher all rolled into one. The book is available free as a PDF and in standard ebook formats (epub, mobi), and there is also a 99 cent Kindle version. Plus, there is a free audiobook! Links to all formats here: Nasruddin.LauraGibbs.net. You will find links to text and audio below, but if you prefer to read with a PDF, on a Kindle, etc., you can do that based on what is most convenient for you.

Language. The language is very clear and contemporary. Unlike the public domain books published before 1923, this book is a recent publication (2020!).

Story Length. The stories are very short: just 100 words long each. Each reading section — A, B, C, D, — contains 50 stories. That's a lot of stories but they go very fast, and I hope you will find lots that intrigue you. When you start with a super-short story, there's so much room to expand with your own imagination.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below; you can look at the title to get a sense of which sections you might enjoy most. There is no need to start at reading section A; you can read them in any order you prefer. You'll see that there are some dramatic groupings, starting with Nasruddin's famous donkey, then moving on through the stages of his life and ending with stories about his death.

Additional Resources. Each of these stories has its own blog post with information about sources along with notes, and sometimes an illustration. You can find the list of the individual blog posts at Nasruddin.LauraGibbs.net.

link to READING A: 
1. Nasruddin Gallops Through the Market
2. Nasruddin Shares the Donkey's Load
3. Nasruddin's Donkey Is Missing
4. Why Nasruddin Rides Backwards
5. Nasruddin, His Son, and the Donkey
6. Borrowing Nasruddin's Donkey
7. Nasruddin's Donkey Crosses the Stream
8. Nasruddin's Saintly Donkey
9. Nasruddin's Flying Donkey
10. Nasruddin Counts the Donkeys
11. Nasruddin Reports a Stolen Donkey
12. The Donkey and the Police-Chief
13. Nasruddin's Bribe
14. The Judge's Brand-New Shoes
15. Nasruddin and the Slap
16. Nasruddin and the Goat
17. Nasruddin and the Sacks of Wheat
18. Nasruddin Visits the Prisoners
19. The Beggar and the Food Vendor
20. Biting Your Own Ear
21. Nasruddin and the Case of the Cow
22. Payment in Kind
23. Nasruddin Takes Sides
24. Good Goose, Bad Goose
25. Nasruddin and the Ocean
26. Nasruddin and the Milkman
27. Nasruddin's Eggplant Necklace
28. Nasruddin Visits a Town for the First Time
29. The Sky in a Distant Land
30. Nasruddin Rescues the Moon
31. The Sun or the Moon?
32. Nasruddin's House Catches Fire
33. The Wisdom of Camels
34. Nasruddin and the Fish
35. How Old Is Nasruddin?
36. Nasruddin and the Stranger
37. Nasruddin in the Rose Garden
38. Nasruddin and the Eagle
39. Different People, Different Paths
40. Nasruddin's Buried Treasure
41. Nasruddin Is Perplexed
42. Nasruddin the Optimist
43. Nasruddin Digs a Hole
44. Nasruddin the Proud Father
45. Nasruddin in the Dark
46. Nasruddin's Sense of Economy
47. What the Quarrel Was About
48. Nasruddin's Lost Key
49. Nasruddin's Toothache
50. Nine Months for a Baby

link to READING B: 
51. Nasruddin's Wife and the Stew
52. How Old is Nasruddin's Wife?
53. No Room in the Bed
54. Itching and Scratching
55. Is Someone Snoring?
56. Spouses, Past and Present
57. The Sound of a Cloak
58. Nasruddin's Two Wives
59. Who Will Feed the Donkey?
60. The Burglar in the Well
61. The Bread in the Pond
62. Nasruddin Was Robbed
63. Nasruddin in the Cupboard
64. The Burglar in the Dark
65. Bags of Loot
66. The Thief with a Wagon
67. The Thief and Nasruddin's Rooster
68. Nasruddin and the Thief's Shoes
69. Nasruddin and the Apple Tree
70. Nasruddin and the Wind
71. Nasruddin the Nightingale
72. Nasruddin's Ladder
73. Nasruddin and the Tailor
74. Nasruddin and the Porter
75. Nasruddin and the Wealthy Merchant
76. Donkeys and Horses
77. The Cabbage and the Cooking-Pot
78. Jokes in the Coffeehouse
79. A Token of Friendship
80. Getting Fooled by Nasruddin
81. Nasruddin on the Roof
82. An Unexpected Visit from Nasruddin
83. Nasruddin Eating Eggs
84. Nasruddin and the Philosopher's Questions
85. Nasruddin Rewards His Son
86. Nasruddin Gets a Haircut
87. Nasruddin and the Tall Tree
88. Nasruddin's Playful Turban
89. Young Nasruddin and the Tall Tales
90. Naked Nasruddin
91. Nasruddin and the Village Boys
92. Nasruddin and the Grapes
93. Nasruddin and the Sugar
94. Nasruddin and the Hooligan
95. Nasruddin and the Donkey-Boy
96. Frightening Nasruddin
97. Big Pot, Little Pot
98. Nasruddin Goes Upstairs
99. Nasruddin Thinks of Soup
100. Nasruddin's Clothesline

link to READING C: 
101. Nasruddin Asks the Donkey
102. Nasruddin and the Neighbor's Dog
103. Nasruddin and the Neighbor's Bull
104. Nasruddin and the Sesame Seeds
105. Nasruddin and the Bears
106. Nasruddin the Architect
107. The Light in the Garden
108. The Warmth of a Candle
109. Nasruddin's House with Many Windows
110. Nasruddin and the Wool
111. Nasruddin and the Dentist
112. Nasruddin and the Baker
113. The Angel with the Golden Coins
114. Buying an Elephant
115. Who Wants to Get Rich?
116. A Loan from Nasruddin
117. The Proper Way to Beg
118. The Poor Man in the Coffeehouse
119. Nasruddin Looks for Work
120. Nasruddin's Donkey for Sale
121. Nasruddin at the Bathhouse
122. What a Beggar Needs
123. Honored Guests at the Banquet
124. Nasruddin's Two Hands
125. Why People Yawn
126. The Miser's Soup
127. Nasruddin's Big Pot
128. Nasruddin and the Ducks
129. Nasruddin and the Recipe
130. Nasruddin is Tired
131. Nasruddin's Views on Cheese
132. Nasruddin Eats the Walnuts and the Shells
133. Nasruddin Eats an Apple
134. Where's the Halvah?
135. Nasruddin and the Box
136. Nasruddin and the Baklava
137. Nasruddin's Lunch
138. Nasruddin Divides the Walnuts
139. Walnuts and Watermelons
140. Nasruddin's Debt
141. Nasruddin Gets a Gift from God
142. Nasruddin Needs New Clothes
143. The Donkey on the Ledge
144. The Cow and the Colt
145. Big Mosque, Little Mosque
146. Nasruddin and God's Own Guest
147. The Door to Nasruddin's House
148. Nasruddin and his Dog
149. Nasruddin and the Stray Goat
150. Nasruddin on the Run

link to READING D: 

151. Nasruddin and the Small Boat
152. Nasruddin and the Ship's Passengers
153. Nasruddin's Hurried Prayers
154. Nasruddin Needs New Shoes
155. Nasruddin's Inshallah
156. Who Gets the Loaf of Bread?
157. Nasruddin Sees as God Sees
158. Nasruddin Commands the Tree
159. Nasruddin by Night
160. Nasruddin's Tears
161. Nasruddin's Lullaby
162. The Turban of a Scholar
163. The Eagle Jaliz
164. What Is Bread?
165. Nasruddin and the Butterfly
166. Nasruddin Plays the Lute
167. Nasruddin's Grammar
168. Nasruddin's Sermon
169. The Center of the Universe
170. The Scholar's Knife
171. Nasruddin Meets the Governor
172. The Governor Rewards Nasruddin
173. The Governor's Survey
174. The Governor's Poetry
175. Guards and Thieves
176. Emperor Tamerlane's Tax Collector
177. Nasruddin and the Roast Pheasant
178. The Emperor and the Eggplants
179. A Gift for the Emperor
180. Tamerlane and Nasruddin's Donkey
181. Nasruddin's Bold Claim
182. Nasruddin the Philosopher
183. Nasruddin's Qualifications
184. Nasruddin the Archer
185. Nasruddin and Tamerlane's Whip
186. Nasruddin and the King's Gallows
187. Nasruddin and the King's Astrologers
188. Nasruddin and the Mayor's Funeral
189. The Wealthy Man's Funeral
190. Watching a Funeral Procession
191. Nasruddin's Funeral Robes
192. Nasruddin's Pet Lamb
193. Nasruddin's Funeral Arrangements
194. What Happens After We Die?
195. Prayers for the Dying
196. Nasruddin's Will
197. Nasruddin's Death
198. Nasruddin in the Cemetery
199. Nasruddin on his Deathbed
200. Nasruddin's Final Prayers