ARABIC FOLKTALES 

جحا و الشرطي

‏خرج من بيته في منتصف الليل ‏يدور في الشوارع فصادفه شرطي وسأله: ‏ماذا تفعل في الشارع في منتصف الليل؟ 

فردَّ جحا: ‏خرب نومي وأنا أفتش عنهه. 

Juha and the Police Officer

Juha left his house in the middle of the night and was walking the streets when a police officer encountered him and asked: What are you doing in the street in the middle of the night?

Juha replied: My sleep ran away, and I’m looking for it.

Juha and the Thief

Juha sensed that there was a thief in his house one night, so he went to his bedroom closet and hid in it. The thief was looking for something to steal but couldn’t find anything. When he saw the closet he opened it, and there was Juha inside. The thief was frightened, but he took courage and said: What are you doing here, old man?

To that Juha replied: I’m sorry, sir, but I knew that you wouldn’t find anything worth stealing, and for that I was ashamed and hid out of embarrassment.

The Child and the Grocer

A boy went to the grocery store to buy 60 dirhams worth of dates. The grocer gave him dates but reduced the weight. The boy said: Why are these dates lighter?

The grocer replied: To make it easier for you to carry it.

He asked for the money, and the boy paid him fifty dirhams.

The grocer said: The price of the dates is sixty dirhams. Why did you pay less? The boy replied: To make it easier for you to count the money.