The Hodja and the Thieving Bird
The Hodja buys liver at the market and a kite snatches it; the Hodja says he still has the recipe.
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One day Nasreddin Hodja bought a piece of liver at the market. On the way he met a friend. His friend asked, "Hodja, how are you going to cook this liver?" The Hodja said, "I don't know, give me a recipe." His friend told him a fine recipe; the onion, the spices, the cooking time... So as not to forget, the Hodja wrote it all down on a piece of paper.
As he was going home a kite swooped down from the sky, snatched the liver from his hand and flew away.
The Hodja watched it go. Then he took the paper out of his pocket, held it up in the air and shouted after the kite:
"Don't get too excited! I've still got the recipe!"
The people at the market fell about laughing. The Hodja shrugged: "The liver goes, the recipe stays. Tomorrow I'll buy another liver; let the kite come again, and we'll see what it does without the recipe."
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
The Hodja and the Thieving Bird 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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