Chihuahua carried on with saying, "Mr Himaar and Mr Berok were heading home. When the Jungle Kingdom appeared on the horizon, Mr Himaar said, "I'm feeling tired, would you like to stop for a while?" Mr Berok nodded, and after sitting under a shady tree, he muttered, "It is hard to escape from the opinions of the people!" "O Mr. Berok, instead of saying about something I don't understand, you'd better tell me a story!" Mr. Himaar responded. Mr. Berok nodded, "Listen to this!""One day, Nasreddin Hodja and his son, on the way back home. Instead of riding the donkey, Hodja preferred to go on foot, and had his son to ride it. On their way, some courtiers, who passed along, talked about them, "Look at the healthy young man! Like mostly the youth, have no respect for elders. He should be the one walking, not his poor father!"When they had passed by these people, Hodja's son felt disturbed, and insisted his father to ride the donkey, and he'd prefer to walk. So, Hodja mounted the donkey, and his son, walking besides him. A few steps forward, they met without stopping, another courtiers, saying, "Well, look at that sad scenery! The poor little young guy, has to walk, while his sound father, rides the donkey!"After they had passed by these people, Hodja told his son, "It's better for both of us, walking. Then no one will complain!" So, they went ahead, walking with the donkey. A little ways down the road, they met the other courtiers—you must have known, they were everywhere, creeping like parasites—quipping, "Take a look at those fools. Both of them, walking under this fierce blazing sunlight, neither are riding the donkey!"Hodja turned to his son, saying, "It is complicated to escape from the opinions of men!"Meanwhile, on the market, a merchant, who, not being a local, but happened to own a shop there, announced, "I would give away, all the gold of mine, to all the villagers!" he said loudly and excitedly. Standing next to him, a district commander, a village official, and a clerk.However, the villagers, not so enthusiastic, instead of accepting, they mumbled, "Hmh! This happens often!" But otherwise, there were also those who welcomed the announcement with glee, you know who they were, right? Yes, the courtiers!—and indeed, that's how they were—They shouted, "Look, this master of philanthropic, more generous than you are, O villagers!"The day turned into tomorrow, and tomorrow turned into day after tomorrow, the gold hadn't been served yet. Annoyed, the villagers complained to the local Judge. The Judge, immediately called the merchant. But somehow, the Judge, when the merchant came before him, just said, "If you are able to come up with a witness, then you will be released!"So the merchant looked for a witness, and from some informations he collected, only one person could do it, as long as there were some silvers to give.Nasreddin Hodja was lying in the shade of an ancient walnut tree. His body was at rest, but, something went wrong through his mind. Looking up into the mighty tree, he was thinking. "Was it indeed wise that such a great tree as this, be created, to bear only tiny walnuts as fruit? Behold the stout stem and strong limbs. They could easily carry the pumpkins that grow from spindly vines in yonder field, vines that cannot begin to bear the weight of their own fruit. Should not walnuts grow on weakly vines and pumpkins on sturdy trees?" the Hodja said.So thinking, the Hodja dozed off, only to be awakened by a walnut, fell from the tree, striking him on his forehead. "O my Lord!" he exclaimed, seeing what had happened. "If the world had been created according to my meager wisdom, it would have been a pumpkin that fell from the tree and hit me on the head. It would have killed me for sure!"Suddenly, the merchant came up, handing out a big pouch of silver coins, asked him to be the witness, saying, "If the judge asked you, 'Did this man give away all the gold coins?' Please tell him that I did." and in hurried, withdrew. The Hodja, speechless and confused, all he could do was, standing and scratching his head, "What's wrong with this man?"They appeared before the judge. and the Hodja gave evidence that the man had indeed given away his "silver" coins. The judge accepted, and they were dismissed. Outside, the merchant wanted to know something, "Hodja Effendi, why did you say 'silver' instead of 'gold'?""If it is a lie," answered the Hodja, "Does it matter? A lie is a lie. A white lie is a lie. A half truth is a lie. Hiding the truth is a lie. A lie by omission is a lie. Once lie, is still a lie!"Mr. Himaar laughed, so did Mr. Berok, laughing, not because of the story, but Mr. Himaar's braying.""And Allah knows best."
Reference :
- Minyatur Yayinlari, 202 Jokes of Nasreddin Hodja, Amazon
