Fools Ethnic Fools 352 371 1 The Seven Wise Men of Buneyr India seven men of Buneyr left their native land to seek fortune at evening they sat by a tree to rest and one said they should see if everyone was there he counted six and forgot himself and thought someone was missing they all began counting and all forgot themselves they went to look for their lost comrade and found a shepherd who counted 7 and they said they owed him a month of free labor for finding their comrade the shepherd took them home and told one of them to take care of his old mother he told another to take his goats and graze them then told the other 5 he would have work for them tomorrow the one taking care of his mother was flapping away flies from her and threw a rock which knocked her down dead the one taking care of the goats sat down to eat and he thought the chewing goats were mocking him so he took a hatchet to all their heads he did not give the others work and had them resume their journey 2 The Baneyrwal and the Thief India a little baneyrwal looked in the tub and saw his reflection told his mom there was a child in the tub begging for bread his mother told her husband to go check the tub the husband said he saw a thief that would murder them in their sleep he threw a stone in the water and said the robber must have escaped 3 The Baneyr Man and the Mill India A baneyrwal came down to the Indus and saw a water mill at work he said that it must be god because it had no hands or feet but is wonderful kissed the walls but cut his face with sharp stones 4 The Twelve Men of Gotham England twelve men went to fish they said they hoped nobody drowned they counted themselves and counted 11 forgetting themselves a courtier came and asked what they would give him to find the twelfth man they said they would give him all their money he hit them each with his whip and counted 12 they thanked him dearly 5 The Foolish German Russia German steward did not understand Russian saints and their holy days he forced them to work on St Nicholas day and the peasants decided to play a prank on him they told him they couldn t work because it was St Hornet s day and took him to a hornet s nest in a tree he heard the buzzing of the hornets and said they were drunk and that the peasants must work anyway hornets stung the german he told them they could take the whole week off 6 Russian Soldiers Austria narrator s friend had Russian soldiers quartered in his home who had never seen a bathroom they thought the toilet was a well and drank from it and used the bath tub as a coal bin they couldn t ride bicycles 7 An East Frisian Wedding Custom Germany do you know why they always have a manure wagon at an east Frisian wedding no why to draw the flies away from the bride More Fools 8 Lawyer and Doctor Egypt man had 2 sons when they grew up one was a thief one was a murderer neighbor told him to send them to school one became a lawyer the other a doctor 9 The Man the Boy and the Donkey Aesop man and son going to market with their donkey a countryman came by and called them fools and said donkeys are only for riding the man put the boy on the donkey and they rode away they then passed men who called the boy lazy for riding the donkey and making his father walk so the father made the boy get off and he got on then they came to two women who said the man was rude for making his son walk so they both got on the donkey they got to town and people said they were hurting the donkey they tied the donkey to a pole and began to carry him but he kicked free fell in the water and drowned moral try to please everyone and you will please no one 10 The Two Weavers and the Grasshoppers India 2 weavers took guns and went out to hunt a grasshopper flew onto one s shoulder and the other shot him in the heart 11 The Broken Pot The Panchatantra there was a Brahman whose name means luckless by nature he begged and got rice after he was full there was still a potful left he hung the pot on the wall and began daydreaming of how he could get rich from the rice then the rice fell and was ruined he who dreams about unrealistic projects for the future will have the same fate as the character 12 The Poor Man and the Flask of Oil Bidpai poor man who lived next to a rich merchant who sold oil and honey the merchant sent a flask of oil to the poor man the poor man was happy and put it on his top shelf he wondered one night how much the oil would sell for and all the good he could get from it and accidentally swung and knocked the oil all over himself 13 The Barber s Tale of His Fifth Brother 1001 Nights when our father died he left us each 100 dirhams fifth brother invested his inheritance in glassware hoping to resell it for more money said he would keep profiting from glass until he purchased slaves and a fine house then he would demand to marry the prime minister s daughter and if he refused he would take her by force he would ignore the girl until she tried to give him wine and he would strike his fist he did so and broke all the glass 14 The Milkmaid and Her Pail Aesop farmer s daughter was milking cows and bringing back a pail of milk on her head she said the milk would make cream which would make butter which she would sell at the market then buy eggs which would hatch chickens which would give her a large poultry yard then she would buy a gown then get a man but she will say nothing to them and toss her head to them tossed her head and dropped the pail of milk moral do not count your chickens before they are hatched 15 The Mosquito and the Carpenter The Jakata Tales Brahmadatta was king in Benares the Bodhisatta became a trader in a border village were many carpenters an old man was cutting wood and a mosquito stung his head he told his son to get it away the son took an ax and cut his father s head in half the Bodhisatta said that an enemy with sense is better than a friend with none 16 The Gardener and the Bear Bidpai gardener had no family or friends his garden was his life …