Nasreddin Hodja Stories

Thanks very much for Barbar for posting Uyghur version of Nesridin Ependi's stories. Here are some more that I've known from my very early age:

A Dinner of Smells

A poor man once went to find the Efendi and humbly said, "Wise and noble Nasirdin, I want to ask a favor of you but I don't know if you will stoop so slow as to help me."
"To help my neighbor is an honor and a pleasure. Speak," answered the Efendi.
"Alas!" said the man with a sigh. "For us poor people, life is not easy. Yesterday I stopped a moment in front of the door of a restaurant belonging to a great lord. He said that I ate the smell of his food and asked me to pay him. Naturally I could not give him a cent and he took me before the cadi. My sentence will be pronounced today. Can you help me? Say something in my behalf."
"All right," replied the Efendi and accompanied the poor man to the court of the cadi.
The lord was already there, talking gaily with the cadi. As soon as he saw the accused, the cadi changed his expression and began covering him with insults. "Shameless man! You see this lord? You have filled yourself up on the smell of his restaurant and have not even paid him. Pay him what you owe, at once!"
"You will become ill with vexation, my lord," said the Efendi, stepping forward. He bowed and added, "This poor man is my elder brother. He doesn't have a cent, so I will pay in his place."
The Efendi then took a little sack of copper coins from his belt, bent to the lord's ear and jingled them. "Do you hear this sound?" he asked.
"Of course I hear it," retorted the lord.
"Well, now the debt is paid. My brother has smelled your meals and you have heard his money."
He took the arm of the poor man and went away.

The Three Truths

One day the Efendi took his carrying pole and rope and went to the bazaar looking for work. He joined a group of day-laborers waiting to be hired, squatted down and hoped for a bit of luck. After a while a great lord came along and called out loudly, "I have bought a case of porcelain. To the one who will carry it home for me I will tell three incontrovertible truths."
No one paid any attention to him. The Efendi however, grew curious. "Money?" he thought. "There is always a way to earn it, but it doesn't happen every day to listen to three incontrovertible truths. If I carry the case for him I'll become more intelligent." He arose, picked up the case with his carrying pole and followed the lord toward his home.
As they walked, the Efendi very humbly asked the lord to speak. The lord replied, "Listen carefully. If somebody tells you that it is better to have an empty stomach than full one, you must absolutely not believe him."
"Wonderful!" exclaimed the Effendi. "And what is the second truth?"
"If somebody tells you that to go on foot is better than to go on horseback, at any cost you must not believe him."
"Right! So right!" said the Effendi. "It's such a pleasure to listen to such profound truths! And what is the third truth?"
"Listen," said the rich lord, "If somebody tells you that in this world there is somebody more idiotic than you, for heaven's sake you must not believe him."
The Efendi listened to him attentively, then suddenly opened the hand which was steadying his carrying pole and - crash! - the case burst open on the ground. Pointing to the broken pieces of porcelain, the Efendi said to the lord, "Listen, if somebodoy tells you that your porcelain has not broken, for heaven's sake you must not believe him!"

You can read more of the Uyghur version of the stories here:

http://www.meshrep.com/Story/Storylist.html

Nasreddin Hodja's tales seem very famous at middle east and west europe as well as anatolia. His hilarious tales also shows Anatolian people's senses, hopes, wievpoint to life...

I want to add that there is a similarity between Hoca Nasreddin and "Ahi Evran Veli" who is promoter of "ahizm." Ahi Evran's other name is "Nasır�ddin." And he influences all Anatolian with his ideas and actions. There can be some similarities between Arabic and Persian characters, or others. And surely there can be same tales in different languages. Anyway I want to know his true identity and origin. But we haven't any document except his anecdotes.

I didnt know that he is known at other countries so much.

In Bulgaria we have an equivalent of Nasreddin Hodja and his name is Hiter Peter(Clever Peter).There are many stories in which Hiter Peter faces Nasreddin Hodja and always fool him.

Some people suppose he was sufi. Large part of Idries Shah's book "The Suffism" is about Nasraddin Hoja.