Nasreddin Sawing Branch

tale:nasreddin_sawing_branch

Sitting on a branch and sawing it off between himself and the trunk, the Hodja is warned by a passerby that he will fall. He ignores the advice, and of course down he comes. Running after the stranger, he begs to know the hour of his death, since the man so clearly foretold the future. Moral: a lucky guess is not wisdom, and a fool mistakes the two. — Nasreddin Hodja