Is the Thief Not to Blame at All?
The Hodja's donkey is stolen, and everyone blames the Hodja.
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One morning Nasreddin Hodja went to the stable and saw that his donkey was not in its place. A thief had got in during the night and stolen the donkey. The Hodja gathered his neighbors: "My donkey has been stolen!"
The neighbors started talking. One said, "Hodja, you should have put a lock on the stable door!" Another said, "Didn't you hear a noise in the night? You must have been asleep!" Another said, "You should have kept the donkey inside the house!" Yet another, "You should have kept a dog!" Everyone said something, and every one of them blamed the Hodja.
The Hodja listened in silence. Then he raised his hands: "Stop, stop. We get it: I am the one who didn't lock the door, I am the one who was asleep, I am the one who didn't keep a dog. But what about the thief? Is the thief not to blame at all?"
The neighbors fell silent. He was right. They all bowed their heads.
Whether the Hodja ever found his donkey is not known. But from that day on in Aksehir, whenever somebody did something bad and people wanted to blame the victim, everyone said the same thing: "Is the thief not to blame at all?"
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
Is the Thief Not to Blame at All? is a children's tale from Nasreddin Hodja, suitable for ages 4-9 and about 1 minutes long. Read it free on Masal Merkezi, play a lullaby or nature sound in the background, tap any word to see its Turkish meaning and save it to your favorites. For similar tales browse the Nasreddin Hodja category.
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