One day the Hodja was invited to a feast in an important and wealthy family’s home. When he arrived, neither the hosts, nor the other guests paid any attention to him. They made him sit at the corner of the table. They didn’t ask his opinion on any of the discussed matters, and worst of all, they forgot to pass him the food trays. Nasreddin Hodja felt left out. Nobody was showing any due respect or offering him food. The servants were passing him by and forgetting to fill his goblet.
A half hour later, the Hodja had enough of being ignored and he quietly slipped out of the house. He went back to his home and changed his clothes. He wore the best and the newest garments he owned. Then, he borrowed a very nice coat with real fur trims from one of his better-off neighbours. With this new attire, he headed back to the house where the banquet was being held.
This time around, everyone noticed the Hodja. The hosts and the servants welcomed him and the other guests treated him with respect. They gave him the best spot at the table and offered him food and drinks. Nasreddin Hodja was very pleased with this new reception. He started to eat with relish and participate in the conversation.
However, the guests and the host soon noticed that, every now and then, the Hodja was dipping the hem of his coat into his plate and muttering,“eat my fur coat, do eat, you eat too.”Everyone was curious.
`Hodja Effendi,’ the host finally inquired,“why are you dipping your coat into the food and what is it that you are murmuring?”Nasreddin Hodja was waiting for this opportunity.“I am feeding my coat,”he was glad to explain,“I am telling it to enjoy the food. After all, it is thanks to its fur trims that I am being offered all these delicious treats.”
© 2001 Lale Eskicioglu
Note: This is the most famous of all Nasreddin Hodja stories. Its proverbial ending, “ye kürküm, ye!” (eat my fur coat, eat!) is a common expression in Turkish. It is used to indicate treatment based on displayed wealth.
