Answer key

Prepared by: learnloophq@gmail.com

Last edited 11 days ago by Learn LoopHQ.

Chapter: 07. Mullah Nasreddin And The Nail

⁠

Practice Paper - Answer Key

A. Answer these questions.

Mullah Nasreddin was living in “extreme poverty,” with “debts accumulated,” and his “credit quickly vanished.”

The neighbor tried to make the price seem helpful by saying, “I want to help you, good neighbour. I will buy the house from you, even though I don’t really have any interest in it.”

The first item Mullah Nasreddin hung on the nail after moving out was his turban.

The neighbor’s initial thought was that “this would be the last time” Nasreddin would visit or hang something on the nail, believing “there was nothing more the mad mullah could possibly hang on the nail.”

The wife’s ultimate threat was, “Get that out of my house or I’m leaving you!”

B. Answer these questions with reference to the context.

“God bless you with long life and healthy progeny for this generous gesture!” a. Mullah Nasreddin is the speaker. b. This is addressed to the neighbor. c. Mullah Nasreddin’s delight is likely not genuine in the sense of gratitude for a fair deal. Instead, it is delight at the neighbor falling into his trap, knowing his peculiar clause is about to be accepted, which will allow him to reclaim his house.

“Now look what he’s done. He is taking advantage of our kindness. No, advantage of your weakness.” a. The neighbour’s wife says these lines, and they are directed to her husband. b. The “kindness” refers to allowing Mullah Nasreddin to keep the nail and visit. The “weakness” refers to the husband’s decision to agree to such a clause in the contract and his inability to stop Nasreddin’s escalating actions. c. The immediate effect on the listener (the husband) is visible distress; he “chewed at the ragged end of his moustache” and appeared unhappy, indicating he felt the pressure and was at a loss for what to do.

“Well, we will see about that. Let us have the council of elders make a ruling.” a. The neighbour decides to call for the council of elders. b. He likely believes the council will rule in his favor because he thinks Mullah Nasreddin’s action of hanging cow dung is unreasonable and goes beyond the spirit of the agreement, even if the letter of the contract doesn’t explicitly forbid it. He probably expects common sense to prevail over Nasreddin’s eccentricity. c. This decision reveals the speaker’s extreme desperation. He has exhausted his own attempts to stop Nasreddin and is now willing to involve the village’s highest authority, indicating he is at his wit’s end and needs external intervention to resolve the unbearable situation.

C. Think and answer.

Mullah Nasreddin’s strategy of slowly escalating the nuisance is highly effective because it gradually increases the neighbor’s discomfort and regret, making the final unbearable act (the cow dung) the breaking point. If he had hung the cow dung immediately, it might have been dismissed as an act of outright madness or malice, potentially leading to a different ruling from the elders. The gradual escalation, however, highlights the neighbor’s agreement to the “small thing” (the nail) and shows how a seemingly insignificant clause can be exploited legally, building an undeniable case that the neighbor freely invited his own misery. It wears down the neighbor’s resolve and tolerance step by step.

One specific example of Mullah Nasreddin demonstrating his presence of mind is when the neighbor tries to shut the door on him after seeing him. Nasreddin immediately “placed his foot inside,” preventing the door from closing and ensuring he could enter to “worship his nail.” This quick, decisive action prevented the neighbor from denying him access, which would have disrupted his plan. His calm response, “Possibly,” when asked if it’s his last visit, also shows his control and forethought in the situation.

Yes, the neighbor likely learned a valuable lesson by the end of the story. The text suggests this through his actions: he endures “long arguments with his wife and a sleepless night,” indicating significant distress and contemplation. Ultimately, he “begged the mullah to buy his house back, at a bargain price,” and he and his wife “moved out as quickly as possible.” This desperate action of not only giving up the house he tried to get cheaply but also begging Nasreddin to buy it back, signifies a profound realization of his misjudgment and the consequences of his greed. He learned that attempting to exploit others can backfire severely, leading to greater loss and humiliation.

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.

Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.