A Moolah, who had travelled about Arabia, Persia, Hindustan, and, in a word, the whole seven climes without finding any one who could answer his questions, was told by a man, ’In this country there is a man called Cogia Nasr Eddin, who will answer your questions if any one can.’  The Moolah arising, went straight to Belgrade, where he bought an aspre’s worth of pomegranates, which he placed in his bosom.  Going out of the suburbs of Belgrade, he saw a man going to his labour; now this was the Cogia himself.  Going up to him he saw a man like a fakeah, with shoes of raw hide on his feet and a kiebbeh or rough cloak on his back.  When he was close by him he said to him, ‘Salaam’; and the Cogia saying to him, ‘Peace be unto you,’ said, ‘Moolah Efendi, for what have you come?’ The Moolah replied, ‘Can you answer a question which I shall ask?’ The Cogia said, ‘I can.’  ‘Do you know so-and-so?’ The Cogia said, ’I can do nothing without being paid.  What will you give me?’ The Moolah taking the pomegranates which were in his bosom, gave him one; whereupon the Cogia answered his question, and got all his pomegranates, one by one, till not a single grain remained.  The Moolah then said, ’I have yet one question to ask.’  The Cogia replied, ’Go your way:  don’t trouble me.  The pomegranates are spent.’  Whereupon the Moolah went away, saying, ’If the labourers of Moom are of this description, what must the learned men be?’

One day the Cogia saw a great many ducks playing on the top of a fountain.  The Cogia, running towards them, said, ‘I’ll catch you’; whereupon they all rose up and took to flight.  The Cogia, taking a little bread in his hand, sat down on the side of the fountain, and crumbling the bread in the fountain, fell to eating.  A person coming up, said, ‘What are you eating?’ ‘Duck broth,’ replied the Cogia.

One day the Cogia having bought a liver, was carrying it to his house; suddenly a kite, swooping from above with a loud scream, seized the liver, and flew off with it.  The Cogia remained staring after it, but saw that it was impossible to recover his meat.  Making up his mind, he ran up to the top of an eminence, and a person passing below with a liver in his hand, the Cogia darted down and snatched the liver out of the person’s hand, and ran again up the rock.  ‘Hallo, Cogia,’ said the man, ‘what are you about?’ ‘I was merely playing the kite out of fun,’ said the Cogia.

A person coming to Nasr Eddin Efendi, requested him to let him have a rope.  The Cogia went into his house, and coming out again, said, ’The rope is striking ten.’  ‘How can a rope strike ten?’ said the man.  ’It will always be striking ten,’ said the Cogia, ’till I feel inclined to give you the rope.’

One day the Cogia put some fowls into a cage and set out for the castle of Siouri.  As he was going along he said to himself, ’These poor wretches are here imprisoned:  I think I may as well give them a little liberty.’  So he let them all out, and all the hens ran off in one direction or another.  The Cogia taking a stick in his hand, placed himself before the cock, pushing him and driving him, saying, ’O you who in the middle of the night knowest when it is morning, how is it that in broad day thou knowest not the way to the castle?’