Mullah in Search of a Wife

(My friend Babak Kardan sent this story to me. He is an excellent teacher. Probably he wrote it for a class. I am sure you will like it.)
You may think this is just an amusing story, but there is more to it… think about it!
Mullah was a man who lived a long time ago in Arabia. He had many experiences in his life, which we can learn from, even today! Listen to this one…

One evening, when the Mullah was old, he was sitting around with his friends, talking. All of a sudden, one of his friends asked,

“Dear Mullah, you have been so kind to all of us for so many years. We have often wondered why you never got married and had a family. Please tell us the reason why.”

“Well,” said the Mullah, “it’s a long story, but I will tell you.”

“When I was young, of course, I wanted to get married. Once I had finished my studies, I started to think about marriage. What type of person would I like? What should she be like? Where should she be from? You know….. All sorts of ideas.

“So I thought about this. Hmmm, well, she should definitely be slim, and tall too. And with dark, beautiful eyes that shine like stars. She must be very fair-skinned, of course, with long black hair. And educated too, and be able to play musical instruments, so that she can play music for me in the evenings. She should also be a good cook, of a noble family background, not too serious, and have excellent behaviour in front of elders. But her nose shouldn’t be very big, and she should have a mind of her own too, not be so docile after all….

“So I set off on my horse to travel to different cities across the country and find my true love, my perfect wife. After all, she must be out there somewhere, waiting for me too.”

“The first city I stopped at, I met this wonderful lady, with dark, shining eyes, tall and fair too. Ah, she was very attractive, and from a noble family background.”

“Well?” asked the Mullah’s friends, “so, what did you do?”

“Oh, that,” replied the Mullah, “Oh no! She was not for me….. she didn’t know how to play any musical instruments, and actually, her nose was a little big……”

“So then I traveled to another city, where my friends introduced me to a very good family with a lovely daughter. She was so proper, so decent and well-behaved, she was a gifted musician, and above all, she was an excellent cook, her parents assured me!”

“That’s wonderful!” Exclaimed the Mullah’s friends. “So what happened?”

“Well, actually, she was a little plump” said the Mullah, “and kind of short.”

“Oh my!” said the Mullah’s friends. “Then what?”

“Ah then!” said the Mullah, “I went to my native town, and there, my relatives introduced me to a most precious young lady. I cannot even describe her personality, so bright, just the right balance of mind, tall and fair, a keen music layer, educated and everything I had wanted in a wife. Finally, I had met the perfect wife!”

The Mullah then fell silent. Everyone looked at him, but he didn’t say anything.

Finally his friends asked him, “please tell us, what happened then?”

“Oh that,” said the Mullah, in a quiet tone, “you see, she, too, was looking for the perfect man…”

Babak
Feb 13, 2010