Once Nasreddin Hodja heard that the rich moneylender Jafar had fallen sick and promised big money for a cure. Nasreddin Hodja disguised himself as a doctor, came to the moneylender's home and offered his services.

He arranged all the relatives in a circle and put the moneylender directly on the ground in the center of the circle. Then he said solemnly,
"Now I will put this blanket on Jafar and say my prayers. And all of you must say them after me. When I take the blanket off, Jafar will be healthy again. But I must warn you about one very important condition. While saying your prayers, no one of you is allowed to think about a monkey! And Jafar is the last to do this! If some of you starts thinking about a monkey – a tailed monkey with a red breech, disgusting muzzle and yellow fangs – then recovery is out of question! Have you understood?
“Yes, we have!” the relative answered in chorus.
Nasreddin Hodja singsonged the first words of the prayer and the chorus of the relatives followed him harmoniously. But their singing was gradually becoming more and more dissonant. Hodja noticed that the face of one of the relatives was worried and bewildered; the second one started coughing, the third relative was confounding the words and the forth was shaking his head as if he wanted to chase some obtrusive visions. A minute later Jafar himself started rolling over under his blanket: a monkey, a hideous monkey with a long tail and yellow fangs was haunting him. It was making faces, putting out its tongue and showing its red breech.

 

Nasreddin Hodja suddenly stopped as if he was harking to something.
“You don't obey! You are so bold as to think about the monkey while saying your prayers! But I have prohibited you from doing this!”
He took off the blanket and started shouting at the moneylender, “Jafar! Emir will know everything tomorrow!”
Profanity was punished severely so all the relatives were chilled with terror and the moneylender started to babble something trying to snatch at any excuse. But Nasreddin Hodja did not listen to him. He turned abruptly and went away shutting the gate with a bang.