With Timur in the Bathhouse
In the bathhouse Timur asks the Hodja, "If I were a slave, how much would I be worth?" The Hodja's answer angers and amuses him.
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When Timur came to Aksehir, he heard about Nasreddin Hodja's jokes and kept him by his side. One day the two of them went to the bathhouse together. As they sat sweating beside the marble basins, Timur had an idea.
"Hodja," he said, "you are a clever man. Tell me, if I were sold as a slave at the market, how much would I be worth?"
Everyone in the bathhouse fell silent at once. Timur was a very harsh and feared ruler. One wrong word could get the Hodja into trouble. But the Hodja answered without hesitation: "You'd be worth fifty silver coins, sir."
Timur sat up angrily: "What? Fifty coins? Hodja, the towel round my waist alone is worth fifty coins!"
The Hodja nodded: "That's exactly what I priced, sir: the towel."
For a moment the bathhouse turned as cold as ice. Everyone waited anxiously to see what Timur would do. At first Timur frowned, then he was amazed at the Hodja's courage and burst out laughing. His laughter echoed in the dome of the bathhouse. "Hodja, for the first time someone is telling me the truth," he said. "Everyone else thinks I'm worth my weight in gold, or says so out of fear."
The Hodja smiled too: "Sir, a person's worth is measured neither by his crown nor by his robe. In the bathhouse, everyone is just a towel. What shows our worth is the good we do."
Timur thought about these words for a long time. That day he cut the taxes on Aksehir by half. And as they left the bathhouse he whispered to the Hodja: "Did I do something today worth more than my towel, Hodja?" The Hodja laughed: "You did, sir. Now you're worth sixty coins."
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
With Timur in the Bathhouse 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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