Short story: Mullah Nasruddin states the truth, but in an inflated way.

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The Mullah was getting old. He was not exercising as much as he should. He was eating more than he should. He put on a great deal of weight, topping the scales now at 105 kilos. He used to be a thin man of only 78 kilos. One day, an old friend of the Mullah's saw him in the market square. He had not seen the Mullah for the long period of ten years, as he had been carrying out his business in another distant land. He recognised the Mullah, though, in spite of his ballooning figure. He said to the Mullah, "How much do you weigh now? It looks like that you have put on some weight, over the years, since I last saw you, and you told me then that you weighed only 78 kilos. Surely, you look like you are that, plus half as much again now too." The Mullah answered quickly. "I am 78 kilos." "You jest," said his old friend. "What happened to your renowned honesty too? It's also ballooned away from you too, l see." The Mullah replied, "Honesty is about giving the same answer, without changing it to suit the occasion. I have done that. I am still the same 78 kilos, just inside a larger outer covering." Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com The Mullah, looking out to see, (and so to see sea here too, see picture) knows that inside of himself, he remains his real self, despite his outerness.