Abunawas - I believe this name (a character) is very much familiar to Indonesian people, particulary those who like funny stories. Abunawas is one example of the story character which is largely revealed in humor books especially those dedicated to children. He is described as such a smart and humorous person who always comes up with brilliant ideas in solving problems. In some resources, it is stated that Abunawas, whose real name was Abu Hani Muhammad bin Hakami, was born in Ahwaz, Persia (now Iran) in 735. He died in Baghdad in 810 as a prestigious writer in the Arab prose of in the mid century. His popularity was due to his smartness in using language and Arabic literature and his productivity in making poems with humor and joke. Stories of Abunawas serve as entertainment. In addition, those stories also enable us to broaden our knowledge about cultures of different tribes, groups, communities and ethics as described in the story. No wonder, many people in the world, not only in Indonesia like them a lot. There have been numerous number of Abunawas stories. The following story entitled 'Abu Nawas: A Very Respectable Message Man' is one example showing how smart Abunawas is in solving his problem. To me, this is one of the smartest story of Abunawas that may inspires us to do the same, thinking smartly. Please take a few minutes to read. Have a nice reading. Long time ago, in the kingdom of king Aaron, Abu Nawas was invited to the king’s dinner. He was very glad and felt honored. He went to the palace in his best clothes. A servant welcomed him and showed Abu Nawas to his seat. Then, all ministers came and sat on their chairs. The last person entering the room was the king. He sat on his special big seat. On each plate, there was delicious roast chicken. Its smell made people hungry. After praying, the king invited all people to eat. Abu Nawas took his fork and knife. He wanted to cut his chicken. Suddenly the king stopped him, ‘Wait Abu!’. ‘What’s Your Majesty?’ asked Abu. ‘Whatever you do to your chicken, I will do that to you too,’ said the king. ‘What’s Your Majesty,’ Abu replied. ‘For example, if you cut the chicken’s wing, I will also cut your arm.’ The king said. Abu Nawas looked sad and disappointed. But it was not long. Soon his face looked very bright. Suddenly he put down his fork and knife. Then he pinched the chicken’s wing. The king was surprised. He didn’t think Abu would do that. But he could not deny what he had said. So he pinched Abu arm. Next, Abu patted the chicken’s back. The king also patted Abu’s back. After that, Abu massaged the chicken’s wings. The king, reluctantly, also massaged Abu’s arm. All ministers wanted to laugh, but they didn’t dare. They just looked down their plates. After some time, the king stopped massaging Abu. He patted Abu’s shoulders. ‘All right Abu, you eat you chicken now!’ said the king while grinning. ‘Thank you Your Majesty,’ said Abu happily. ‘You are able to escape from my punishment,’ said King Aaron with his mouth full of food. At that time, the king looked amused. He felt satisfied with Abu. Some ministers smiled and laughed a little. Abu didn’t really care about it. He was enjoying the roasted chicken very much. There were more food and laughter during the rest of the party. All were very much happy..
