During the month of Ramadan, Nasrudin Khodja had a habit of keeping track of the days of the fast by placing a pebble in a jar for each day he would fast.

Unknown to him, his young daughter had noticed this strange custom and, thinking she was helping him, began to gather pebbles and placing them in the jar herself.

One day, the neighbors asked him: "How many more days are there left till the end of Ramadan, Khodja?"

"Well, I am not sure how many days are left," he replied, "but I am well aware of how many days have passed, I have devised my own system to keep track of the days in Ramadan. I will check and let you know!"

Nasrudin then promptly went in and began to count the pebbles in the jar, only to realize that there were over one hundred an twenty pebbles. Thinking to himself: 'If I go out and tell them this number, I will become the laughing stock of the town, it is best that I reduce it drastically and go on from there, in fact I will just tell them that forty days have passed!'

So Nasrudin walked out and proudly announced to his neighbors that: "As of today, forty days of the holy month have passed."

The neighbors replied, "What are you saying Khodja? There cannot be more than thirty days of Ramadan".

"What is wrong with you people?!!!" retorted Nasrudin indignantly, "don't you know that the month is much longer for those who actually observe the true fast!!!

It is said, there are as many interpretations to Nasrudin's stories as stars in the sky.

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