Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Molla Nəsrəddin Lətifələri - Pişik Hanı? (Where's the Cat?)

I really enjoy Molla Nasraddine stories. Here is a simple one I found and have tried to translate.


Pişik Hanı?

Molla bazardan üç kilo ət alıb evə göndərir ki, arvad bir-iki gün xörək bişirsin. Arvad qonşu arvadları çağırır, əti bişirib yeyirlər.
Molla axşam böyük bir iştahla evə qayıdır ki, indi ət yeyəcək. Evə çatan kimi arvadına deyir:
                -Arvad, acam, xörəyi gətir şam edək!
                Arvad bir az çörək, bir-iki baş soğan gətirib Mollanın qabağında qoyur. Molla soruşur ki:
                -Arvad, bəs, əti niyə bişirməmisən?
                Arvad deyir:
                -Başıma  daş düşsün. Əti yuyub stolun üstünə qoydum ki, ocağı yandırım. Başim qarışmışdı. Sonra getdim əti götürüm. Gördum ki, pişik hamısını yeyib!
                Molla heç nə deməyib durur. Pişiyi tutub qoyur tərəziyə. Çəkib görur ki, düz üç kilodur. Arvada baxıb deyir:
                -İndi mənə düz de: əgər bu pişikdirsə, bəs ət hanı? Əgər ətdirsə, bəs pişik hanı?

Where’s the Cat?

                Molla bought three kilos of meat from the bazaar and sent it home so that his wife could cook food for a day or two. His wife called other neighborhood wives over and they cooked and ate the meat.
                That evening the Molla returned home with a big appetite, to eat the meat immediately. As soon as he arrives home, he says to his wife:
                -Wife, I’m hungry, bring the food and let's have supper.
                His wife brought him a bit of bread and a couple of onions and put them in front of Molla. Molla asks her:
                -Wife, but, why didn’t you cook the meat?
                 His wife says:
                -Oh let a stone fall on my head! I had washed the meat and put it on top of the table so that I could light the fire. My head was confused. Then I went to bring the meat. I saw that the cat had eaten it all!
                Molla didn’t say anything. He stood up and grabbed the cat and put it on the scale. He weighed it and saw that it weighed exactly three kilos. He says to his wife:
                -Tell me truly now: if this is the cat, where is the meat? And if this is the meat, where is the cat?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It is quite funny.
More Molla Nasraddin please!!!