Old Ottoman/ Nasreddin Khoja/ Nasrettin Hoca Joke.
“One day a man walks up to the Khoja and asks him: “Who are you?”
(Some people back then but more so now associate their occupation or position with who they are)
Khoja responds quickly:
“Hiç, Nothing, I’m a nobody”
Noticing that the man was unimpressed by his response, the Khoja then asks him, “And, who are you?”
The man says proudly that he is an administrator for the Governor.
The Khoja then asks him,
“Who will you be after that?”
The man says, “Perhaps, I will be a Governor myself”
Khoja asks him, “Then who?”
The man says, “Perhaps a Vizier”
Khoja pushes him, “Then who?”
The man says, “Perhaps a Grand-vizier”
Khoja persists, “and then who will you be after that?”
The man knowing very well that he can never be a Sultan says disquietingly: “Hiç, Nothing”.
Khoja responds gleefully:
“Well, my good man, why are you then boasting about who you are, when I’m already at the position that you seek to be many years from now!”
