Once a renowned philosopher and  moralist was traveling through Nasruddin’s village when he asked him where  there was a good place to eat. He suggested a place and the scholar, hungry for  conversation, invited Mullah Nasruddin to join him. Much obliged, Mullah Nasruddin accompanied the scholar to a nearby restaurant, where they asked the waiter  about the special of the day.

– Fish!  Fresh Fish! replied the waiter.a

– Bring us  two, they answered.

A few  minutes later, the waiter brought out a large platter with two cooked fish on  it, one of which was quite a bit smaller than the other. Without hesitating, Mullah Nasruddin cooked the larger of the fish and put in on his plate. The  scholar, giving Mullah Nasruddin a look of intense disbelief, proceed to tell him that what he did was not only  blatantly selfish, but that it violated the principles of almost every known  moral, religious, and ethical system. Mullah Nasruddin calmly listened to the philosopher’s extempore lecture  patiently, and when he had finally exhausted his resources, Mullah Nasruddin said,

– Well,  Sir, what would you have done?

– I, being  a conscientious human, would have taken the smaller fish for myself.

– And here  you are, Mullah  Nasruddin said, and  placed the smaller fish on the gentleman’s plate.