Nasruddin was pacing in concentric circles around his house, throwing handfuls of breadcrumbs as he walked. He made one circuit around the house, and then another, and then another.
Eventually Birbal could not suppress his curiosity and had to ask, "Nasruddin, what are you doing?"
"I am scattering breadcrumbs all around our house."
"I can see that," Birbal replied. "But WHY are you scattering breadcrumbs all around our house?"
"Well," said Nasruddin, "if you wanted to know why, you should have said so. I am doing this in order to keep the tigers away."
"Tigers?" said Birbal, more than mildly alarmed. He had actually seen tigers back home in India, and he knew how dangerous they could be. "What tigers? I don't see any tigers!"
"Indeed," replied Nasruddin. "It works very well, doesn't it?"
Notes: I included this story in Witty Tales, version 1 (December 2019): 34. Tigers.
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