Nasreddin Hoca
teacher · Akşehir, Anatolia · 13th century
A man said to have lived in Akşehir, in Anatolia, in the 13th century. Hoca means teacher. Almost nothing is known of who he really was; hundreds of comic tales under his name have been told among the Turkic peoples, growing in number over the centuries. Those given here are in the English translation George Borrow made from the Turkish.
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c. 13th–16th century · "Cogia" is Borrow's old spelling of Hoca. No one knows when each tale arose, so the date here runs from the century he is said to have lived in to the time the collections began to be written down.
One day Cogia Nasr Eddin Efendi said, 'O Mussulmen, give thanks to God Most High that He did not give the camel wings; for, had He given them, they would have perched upon your houses and chimneys, and have caused them to tumble upon your heads.'The Turkish Jester; or, The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi, translated by George Borrow (1884) · in place of the original: the English translation by George Borrow (1884)
c. 13th–16th century · One of the best known of all the Nasreddin Hoca stories.
One day a man came to the house of the Cogia and asked him to lend him his ass. 'He is not at home,' replied the Cogia. But it so happened that the ass began to bray within. 'O Cogia Efendi,' said the man, 'you say that the ass is not at home, and there he is braying within.' 'What a strange fellow you are!' said the Cogia. 'You believe the ass, but will not believe a grey-bearded man like me.'The Turkish Jester; or, The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi, translated by George Borrow (1884) · in place of the original: the English translation by George Borrow (1884)
c. 13th–16th century · The aspre (akçe) was a small silver coin of Ottoman times.
One night the Cogia dreamt that he was given nine aspres, whereupon the Cogia said, 'O now pray make them up ten'; afterwards he said, 'Make them up eleven,' and then presently, a dispute having arisen, he awoke and saw that in his hand he had nothing, thereupon closing his eyes anew and stretching out his hands, he said, 'Well, well, I shall be content with nine aspres.'The Turkish Jester; or, The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi, translated by George Borrow (1884) · in place of the original: the English translation by George Borrow (1884)
c. 13th–16th century
One day the Cogia was asked, 'When there is a new moon, what becomes of the old one?' 'They make forty stars out of each,' said the Cogia.The Turkish Jester; or, The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi, translated by George Borrow (1884) · in place of the original: the English translation by George Borrow (1884)
c. 13th–16th century · A question from the days when the date was reckoned by the phases of the moon.
One day the Cogia Nasr Eddin Efendi passing along the bazaar, an individual coming up to him said, 'Pray, Cogia, what is the moon to-day? Is it at three or four?' 'I don't know,' said the Cogia. 'I neither buy nor sell the moon.'The Turkish Jester; or, The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi, translated by George Borrow (1884) · in place of the original: the English translation by George Borrow (1884)
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