The Cauldron Had a Baby
The Hodja returns a borrowed cauldron with a small pot inside: "Your cauldron had a baby!"
Tap a word to see it in Turkish · Long press to translate the whole sentence.
One day Nasreddin Hodja asked his neighbor to lend him a big cauldron. The neighbor lent it. A few days later the Hodja brought the cauldron back, but inside it there was a small pot.
The neighbor was surprised: "Hodja, what is this pot?" With a serious face the Hodja said, "Your cauldron had a baby while it was with us. The baby is yours too, of course."
The neighbor laughed, but he took the pot; nobody says no to a free pot.
Some time later the Hodja came again: "Neighbor, may I borrow the cauldron once more?" This time the neighbor lent it gladly, in case it had another baby.
Days passed, weeks passed; the cauldron did not come back. The neighbor could stand it no longer and knocked on the Hodja's door: "Hodja, where is our cauldron?"
The Hodja opened the door with a sorrowful face: "My condolences, neighbor. Your cauldron has died."
"Hodja, how can a cauldron die?"
The Hodja shrugged: "You believed it had a baby; why don't you believe that it died?"
The neighbor did not know what to say. That evening he said to his wife, "Where was my head when I took a free pot?" Because if you accept something that makes no sense, you have to put up with what comes after it.
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
The Cauldron Had a Baby is a children's tale from Nasreddin Hodja, suitable for ages 4-9 and about 2 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.
Sign up and your favorites and reading list follow you on every device.
