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
