The Feast and the Old Cloak
The Hodja, who once said "eat, my fur coat, eat" at a rich man's table, learns from a poor man and seats him at the head of the table.
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Once upon a time Nasreddin Hodja went to a wedding in his old clothes, and nobody paid him any attention. He went home, put on his fur coat and came back, and everyone sat him at the head of the table. Then the Hodja dipped the sleeve of his fur coat into the soup and said, "Eat, my fur coat, eat." Everybody knows that story. But years later it had a sequel.
When the Hodja grew old, he became the most loved person in the village. One day the town's rich merchant was marrying off his son. He gave a great feast and invited the Hodja too. This time the Hodja went in his clean, fine robe. The merchant met him at the door, treated him with great honour and wanted to seat him at the head of the table.
Just then an old, poor man in a patched cloak appeared at the door. He had smelled the wedding food and was standing shyly on the threshold. The servants wanted to chase him away: "This place isn't for the likes of you. Go away!"
When the Hodja saw this, he got up. He went over to the old man and took his hand: "Come, my friend, come. You sit in my place." He seated him at the head of the table, in his own place. And he sat down beside him on a cushion on the floor.
The merchant was astonished: "Hodja, what are you doing? The head of the table is your place!" The Hodja smiled: "Sir, years ago I went to a wedding in an old cloak just like this man, and nobody looked at me. When I put on my fur coat, they sat me at the head of the table. That day I said to my fur coat, 'Eat, my fur coat, eat.' Today I don't want to say to this man's cloak, 'Eat, my cloak, eat.' Let this table be laid for people, not for fur coats."
The wedding house fell silent. Then the merchant bowed his head: "Hodja, you're right." He himself went and brought the old man a plate of the finest food. One by one the guests came and got to know the old man. It turned out that he was a minstrel whose songs, written when he was young, were sung all over the town. That night he played his saz at the wedding and filled everyone with joy.
This story tells us: it is wrong to value people by the clothes they wear. True hospitality means being able to seat the poor man at the door at the head of the table.
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
The Feast and the Old Cloak is a children's tale from Nasreddin Hodja, suitable for ages 6-12 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.
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