The Hodja's Advice to His Neighbour

One day Nasreddin Hodja's neighbour came to him full of woe: "Hodja, my house is too small. My wife, me, five children and my mother too. There's no room to breathe. What shall I do?"

The Hodja thought for a while: "Do you have hens?" "Yes, Hodja, five hens," said the neighbour. "Bring the hens into the house." The neighbour was surprised, but he trusted the Hodja, so he did as he was told.

A few days later the neighbour came back: "Hodja, the hens make a mess everywhere and cluck all day. The house is even more crowded!" "Do you have a goat?" asked the Hodja. "Yes." "Bring the goat inside too." Again the neighbour did as he was told.

A week later the neighbour came with his hair all over the place: "Hodja, the goat ate the curtains and lay down in the children's bed! The house has turned into a nightmare!" The Hodja asked calmly: "Do you have a donkey?" "Yes, Hodja..." "Bring the donkey inside too."

The neighbour was close to tears, but he did what the Hodja said once more. Now the house was unbearable: the hens were clucking, the goat was bleating, the donkey was braying, the children were crying and his mother was grumbling.

A few days later the neighbour collapsed at the Hodja's door: "Hodja, I'm dying! Please find me a cure!" The Hodja smiled: "Now take the donkey out." The neighbour took it out. The next day he said, "Take the goat out too." The day after that, "Take the hens out too."

A week later the neighbour came to the Hodja's door, beaming: "Hodja! How big my house has become! How spacious and quiet! My wife and children are so much happier. Thank you, Hodja!"

The Hodja smiled: "Neighbour, your house hasn't changed at all. Not a single wall has moved, and not a single room has been added. You've simply understood the value of what you have."

This story tells us: we often only understand the value of what we have after going through something harder. Looking once more at what we have before we complain can make us happier.