Latif the Thief
Many people are familiar with the exploits of Mulla Nasrudin, the wise-fool of the east but there is a similar, although lesser-known, character whose tales are told in chaikhanas and in gatherings throughout Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia: Latif the Thief.
There are both similarities and differences with the Nasrudin stories in the Latif Tales but Latif has a style all his own - and of course he is not a holy man but a thief. An improbably wise and clever one. I shall post some of his stories whenever I get the chance as they are very amusing!
One day Latif the Theif ambushed the commander of the Royal Guard, captured him and took him to a cave.
‘I am going to say something that, no matter how much you try, you will be unable to forget,’ he told the infuriated officer. Latif made his prisoner take off all his clothes. Then he tied him, facing backwards, on a donkey.
‘You may be able to make a fool of me,’ screamed the soldier, ‘but you’ll never make me think of something if I want to keep it out of my mind.’
‘You have not yet heard the phrase which I want you to remember,’ said Latif. ‘I am turning you loose now, for the donkey to take back to town. And the phrase you must always remember is: I’ll catch and kill Latif the Thief, if it takes me the rest of my life.’
