In the introduction of the story we are told that Nasreddin was wise and witty.
Sometimes he could be foolish too, but he knew how to laugh at himself. Do you
think t
is true? Give reasons for
your
answer.
Answers
Answer:
Nasreddin Hodja is Turkey's (and perhaps all of Islam's) best-known trickster. His legendary wit and droll trickery were possibly based on the exploits and words of a historical imam. Nasreddin reputedly was born in 1208 in the village of Horto near Sivrihisar. In 1237 he moved to Aksehir, where he died in the Islamic year 683 (1284 or 1285). As many as 350 anecdotes have been attributed to the Hodja, as he most often is called. Hodja is a title meaning teacher or scholar. He frequently is compared with the northern European trickster Till Eulenspiegel.
The many spelling variations for Nasreddin include: Nasreddin, Nasrettin, Nasrudin, Nasr-id-deen, Nasr Eddin, Nasr-eddin, Nasirud-din, Nasr-ud-Din, Nasr-Eddin, and Nasr-Ed-Dine.
The many spelling variations for Hodja include: Hodja, Hodscha, Hoca, Chotza, Cogia, Khodja, and Khoja.
My sources for the following retold anecdotes include The Turkish Jester; or, The Pleasantries of Cogia Nasr Eddin Effendi, translated from the Turkish by George Borrow (Ipswich: W. Webber, 1884); The Tales of Nasrettin Hoca, told by Aziz Nesin, retold in English by Talat Halman (Istanbul: Dost Yayinlari, 1988); Allan Ramsay and Francis McCullagh, Tales from Turkey (London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, and Kent, 1914); Somnath Dhar, Folk Tales of Turkey (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1989); Ali Nouri, Nasreddin Khodjas Schwänke und Streiche (Breslau: Schlesische Verlags-Anstalt von S. Schottlaender, 1904); Albert Wesselski, Der Hodscha Nasreddin, 2 vols. (Weimar: Alexander Duncker, 1911); and Herbert Melzig, Nasreddin Hodscha, Wer den Duft des Essens verkauft: Schwänke und Anekdoten des türkischen Eulenspiegel (Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rohwolt, 1988).