Another fool said, “My father went twice to Jerusalem, and there did he die and was buried, but I do not know which time he died, whether it was during the first visit or the last.”
When another fool was told, “Thy ass is stolen,” he said, “Blessed be God that I was not upon him.”
Another silly man buried some zûzê coins in the plain, and made a fragment of a cloud a mark of the place where it was. And some days after he came to carry away the money, but could not find the place to do so, and he said, “Consider now; the zûzê were in the ground, and they must have been carried away by some people. For who can steal the cloud which is in the sky? And what arm could reach there unto? This matter is one worthy to be wondered at.”
Another simpleton was asked, “How many days’ journey is it between Aleppo and Damascus?” and he replied, “Twelve; six to go and six to come back.”
Another silly man having gone on a journey to carry on his trade wrote to his father, saying, “I have been ill with a very grievous sickness, and if any one else had been in my place he would not have been able to live.” And his father made him answer, saying, “Believe me, my son, if thou hadst died thou wouldst have grieved me sadly, and I would never have spoken to thee again in the whole course of my life.”
A certain lunatic put on a skin cloak with the hairy side outwards, and when people asked him why he did so, he replied, “If God had known that it was better to have the hairy side of the skin cloak inwards, He would not have created the wool on the outside of the sheep.”