Nasrudin went to the mayor’s palace one day wearing a fancy turban.
“Wow!” said the mayor, “What a magnificent turban! I’ve never seen anything like it. How much will you sell it for?” “A thousand dollars,” Nasrudin calmly replied.
A local merchant turned to the mayor and remarked, “That price definitely exceeds the market value of comparable items.” “Your price sounds very expensive,” the mayor remarked to Nasrudin.
“Well,” he replied, “the price is based on how much I bought it for—and I paid a lot for it because I knew that there is only one mayor in the entire universe with taste exquisite enough to buy such a turban.”
Upon hearing this compliment, the mayor immediately demanded that Nasrudin be paid full price for the turban.
Nasrudin then walked over to the merchant and said, “You might know the market values of turbans, but I know the market value of complimenting the mayor.”