Tamerlane's price - II Nasreddin Hodja |
One day, Tamerlane and Hodja together take a trip To a hamam where they start washing as soon as they strip. While bathing, out of the clear blue, demands His Highness: - If I were a serf for sale, how much would you bid? Of course, Hodja knows no cowardice nor shyness: First he pretends to ponder, then, with customary slyness: - If you ask me he says, I would bid a hundred quid. Tamerlane is : You must be insane! - Out towel here alone is worth at least a hundred. Hodja shakes with guffaws that he cannot restrain; Then he bows and blandly says to Tamerlane: - In fact, it was the towel for which I made my bid. Written by Orhan Veli Kanik, translated by Talat Sait Halman (1982 |