Watermelons, Walnuts, and the Wisdom of Allah, and Other Tales of the HocaEvery country has its folk hero--real or legendary, and in Turkey he goes by the name of Nasreddin Hoca, pronounced Nahz-red'-din Hoe'-djah. He lived several years ago and he served as a religious teacher, Moslem priest or judge as the occasion demanded. In spite of these exalted duties he was as human as any man. He could be wise and he could be foolish, and he was always able to laugh at himself. Over the years a collection of stories grew up around this man, and today there is scarcely a Turk alive who doesn't know dozens of them by heart. Barbara Walker has put together only a sampling of the hundreds of Hoca tales that exist. She has captured in English the same directness typical of a Turkish storyteller as he relates one of the well-known, well-loved stories of the wisdom or foolishness of Nasreddin Hoca. |
Contents
TELL ME WHEN WILL I DIE? | 13 |
SHOES FOR A JOURNEY | 24 |
WATERMELONS WALNUTS AND THE WISDOM OF ALLAH | 27 |
THE HOCA AS TAMERLANES TAX COLLECTOR | 29 |
THE SOUND IS YOURS | 35 |
THE HOCA AND THE CANDLE | 37 |
THE HOCA SOLVES A PROBLEM | 42 |
THE HOCA AND ALLAHS SONINLAW | 45 |
EAT MY FINE COAT | 51 |
COW OR DONKEY? | 55 |
NASREDDIN MINDS THE DOOR | 58 |
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE? | 60 |
A DONKEY TRANSFORMED | 62 |
ITS ALL IN KNOWING HOW | 65 |
IT WONT DO YOU ANY GOOD | 67 |
BOILED WHEAT FOR A BOUNTIFUL HARVEST | 68 |
Common terms and phrases
ALLAH'S SON-IN-LAW answered the Hoca archer arrow baggy trousers BARBARA WALKER ILLUSTRATED beckche boast BOUNTIFUL HARVEST caldron candle a hundred cemetery champion coat coffeehouse coins cold companion Cow or Donkey day as Nasreddin day the Hoca dinner DONKEY TRANSFORMED donkey's eggs exclaimed four liras friends grave guest gurgled the tax hand HAROLD BERSON heard HOCA AND ALLAH'S HOCA AS TAMERLANE'S Hoca began Hoca declared Hoca effendi Hoca thought Hoca was placed Hoca's house hundred meters judge Kuk-kuk-kuk kurus legs little donkey Lubbock matter MINDS THE DOOR mother muhtar mules Nasreddin Hoca NE day pastries planting boiled wheat pockets pronounced Nahz-red-din replied the Hoca restaurant owner return the saddlebag ringleader river road rode shoes sire slipped smiled stable Suddenly surely Tamerlane Tech University Press tell Texas Tech University Third Shot Turkey Turkish wait walk WALNUTS warm WATERMELONS wife WISDOM OF ALLAH woodcutter woodcutter's