Describe a story or legend from your culture that you know well

A story I know well is the tale of Nasreddin Hodja, a legendary wise fool who appears in folk stories across the Middle East and Central Asia. I first heard the stories from my grandfather, who told them to me at bedtime when I was little, and I've been retelling them to friends ever since.

One of my favourites goes like this. One night, Nasreddin is seen on his hands and knees under a street lamp, searching for something. A neighbour asks him what he has lost, and he says he has lost his key. The neighbour helps him look for a while, and then asks where exactly he dropped it. Nasreddin replies that he lost it inside his house, but that there is more light under the lamp. It's a short, funny story, but it makes you think.

These stories are passed down from generation to generation, and almost everyone in my country knows at least a few of them. Often they are told at family gatherings, and each person adds their own version, so the details change a little each time.

The message in this particular tale is that we often look for solutions in the easy or comfortable place, rather than where the problem really is. More generally, the Nasreddin stories teach us to question common sense, to laugh at ourselves and to be humble. I like that the hero is neither a king nor a warrior, but an ordinary man who uses humour and cleverness. I believe the stories remain popular because their lessons are as relevant to modern life as they were hundreds of years ago.