Mullah’s Oil

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: “There was one about him carrying some oil into town. And he was in his house, thinking I’m going to go sell this, and I’m going to go buy this, and I’m gonna get that one and I’m going to do this one. He was just making plans, so this guy comes in, he says, ‘Hey Mullah!’ and he hits the thing, he says, ‘what is this?’ He says, ‘well if you hit it harder, nothing.’”

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

Thoughts about the Piece: This story was also well-received. It was told many times even in one dinner sitting, as many people around the table had slight variations of the tale. This version is my personal favorite.