Beauty unveiled
Nasreddin Hodja


One day Hodja was tired to be a widower, so he met a widow woman with an arrangetment of his neighbours. According to social rules existing during Hodja's day, brides didn't show themselves to their future husbands prior to marriage. Hodja and the woman talked with each other a while and they decided to get married. The woman behind black veil had a beatiful and young sound but unfortunatelly, she was both old and ugly.
On Hodja's wedding day, his wife unveiled her face to him and asked,
- Tell me, which of your relatives and friends can I see without covering my face?
- Show your face to whomever you want; so long as you don't show it to me! Hodja replied.