Hodja

One in a Million

x Nasreddin Hodja is Turkey's (and perhaps all of Islam's) best-known trickster. His legendary wit and droll trickery were possibly based on the exploits and words of a historical imam, an Islamic leadership position. Some of the stories have a moral, some do not. Some have to be read twice. Some are hilarious. media type="youtube" key="HKgC4lF2cOk" height="360" width="640" media type="youtube" key="CgBosUZ49mY" height="360" width="640"

[|Hodja Adventure]

** THE WRONG WAY ROUND BUT THE RIGHT WAY **

One Friday morning, the Hodja and the boys in his class, were on their way to the mosque together, where he was going to give a public lecture.

That morning the Hodja, being very preoccupied, mounted his donkey the wrong way round. The boys had already started sniggering when he discovered his mistake, but it was too late. Unless he explained away his action convincingly, he was bound to become the laughingstock of the whole community. Addressing the boys, the Hodja began:

"My riding may seem the wrong way round to you," he said airily, "when actually it's the right way. Riding the conventional way, I couldn't lead you and keep an eye on you at the same time. To follow you would be unthinkable, as I am your teacher. So you see, the wrong way round is the right way for me to ride in this case."