Mullah’s Counting Error

Informant: My friend’s grandfather is originally from Tehran, Iran. He moved to California as an adult but retold some of his favorite stories he heard from his parents as a child.

Original Script: “Once Mullah has been counting the donkeys that he was carrying with himself, and he was sitting on a donkey and counting, there were nine. He said, “but I had ten!” He came down and counted, and there were ten. But then, when he sits on the donkey and he started counting, he came up with nine. He said, “this is very strange!” Then, this repeats some times, then he realizes that he’s counting wrong because, because of that.”

Context of the Performance: Over dinner, family members exchanged old folk stories they remember from Iran.

Thoughts about the Piece: This story got the most laughs at the dinner table. It is does not have any sort of moral but, like most Mullah stories, is told for the humor. I enjoyed listening to these tales.