THE STEAM FROM THE DİSH AND THE SOUND FROM THE COİNS

Doling out justice in Akşehir , Nasreddin Hodja hears the case of two men. One is a cook, long known for his notorious parsimony , and the other a dejected poor man.
First, the cook gets the floor :                
-"You Honor , I'd like to sue this man . I was cooking beans in front of my shop. The saucepan was steaming through the lid. This man sidledup to it clutching a loaf. He started holding the morsels of bread over the steam and shoving them down his throat. Soon he was through with the whole loaf . I demanded the price for the steam of beans , but he didn' t pay .        

Having listened to the account carefully , Hodja turns to the poor man :                              
 - "Is that true ?"          
-"Yes" says the poor man .                              
- " Hand me the purse , then " says Hodja.                      
The dejected pauper cannot object to a Judge. He hands the purse with a few coins to Hodja. Then , Hodja beckons the cook over. He holds the purse close to the cook ' s ears and starts jangling it . Then he says :                                    
-"Come on now , you got your money "    

In a shock , the cook protests :                          
- "Oh come now , what do you mean ?"      

Hodja retorts :            
-" I've had enough! One who sells the steam of a meal gets only the sound of money !"


                                                                         -Yasemin SARITEMUR