Three wise men came to the city of Juha and stayed in the Sultan’s palace. While they were having lunch, they asked if there were intelligent men in the city who could solve difficult riddles. The Sultan thought a lot about the matter and found that Juha was the most intelligent of the intelligent ones in his city, so he ordered him to be brought immediately.
Juha put on the finest clothes and tied his turban on his head so that he would appear like a wise man. When he reached the palace, he found a crowd of people gathered to watch how he would answer the three wise men’s questions.
As soon as Juha descended from his donkey’s back, the first wise man approached him and asked him, “Oh wise elder, tell us where the center of the earth is located.” Without any hesitation, Juha pointed to the spot where his donkey placed his left leg and said, “Right here exactly is the center of the world.” The wise man said to him, “And what proves your words, oh Juha?” Juha answered him, “If you are in doubt about my words, dig in this place and see for yourself. If you find I am mistaken, it is your right to describe me with ignorance and foolishness.”
The three wise men exchanged glances in silence, then the second wise man asked him, “Then tell us, how many stars are there in the sky?” Juha answered without hesitation, “The same number as the hairs of my donkey.” The second wise man asked him, “And how did you know that?”
Juha said, “If you do not believe me, count the hairs of my donkey yourself.” The man asked him angrily, “How can any person count the hairs of a donkey?” Juha answered him, “And can any person count the stars in the sky?”
The three wise men began to look at each other without answering the question that Juha had asked. Here, the third wise man advanced and asked Juha, who was the last, saying, “Good, oh Juha, if you possess an answer to everything, how many hairs are there in my head here?”
Juha answered immediately, “The same number of hairs as in my donkey’s tail.” The wise man asked him, being confident that he had stumped him, “And how do you prove that?” Juha said to him, “Pull out a hair from your head, then another hair from the donkey’s tail. If you find their counts are equal, I am correct. If not, I am mistaken.”
The three wise men exploded in laughter and said to him, “Well done, oh elder Juha. You have proven that you are truly a wise man. But tell us, how were you able to respond with such intelligence to those difficult riddles?” Juha said to them, “If you face a question that has no logical answer, any illogical answer will fulfill the purpose.”
From the anecdotes of Juha.