A8 The Loan of a Cooking Pot

Yulia Davudi of ⁺Hassar ⁺Baba-čanga in Sydney, Australia

xá-yuma ⁺malla ⁺Nasradən bərrə́xšələ bəšk̭álələ ⁺k̭usarta dena mən-švavu. márələ halli xá-dana ⁺k̭usarta ⁺bayyən bašlən gavo bušala. ⁺k̭usarta ⁺gurta lətli. bəšk̭álolə máyolə ⁺k̭usarta bušala bašúlələ, labúlolə, yávolə mədrə k̭a švava. ʾina tre ⁺k̭usaryay-surə mattuyəl gavo. švava márələ ʾaha tre ⁺k̭usaryatə k̭am muyyevət? mərrə ⁺k̭usartət diyyux dəlla tre xinə mənno. yavəl k̭atu ʾavət basima, bitáyələ. ʾé-šabta xita ⁺malla ⁺Nasradən bərrəxšəl mədrə. márələ ⁺maxleta, xa-⁺k̭usarta buš-⁺gurta ⁺byáyəvən. ⁺malla ⁺Nasradən ⁺ʾaynu pə́ltəva ⁺ʾal-xa-⁺k̭usartət švavə. nak̭ša gríšəva ⁺bayyiva ʾay mayyívala k̭a-de ⁺k̭usartu yuvvalə tré-xinə꞊da surə mənno. xəšlə mərrə ⁺byayən xa-⁺k̭usarta ⁺gurta, k̭at ʾətli ʾarxə bašlən xurrag gavo. yávolə ʾe-⁺k̭usarta buš-šap̂ərta ⁺gurta k̭a ⁺malla ⁺Nasradən. ⁺malla ⁺Nasradən máyolə mattúyolə beta. švava bəxzáyələ xá-yuma, tré-yumə, xá-šabta, tré-šabay, xá-yarxa, tré-yarxə ⁺k̭usarta litən. ba-dáx vila ʾa-⁺k̭usarta? mu vila ⁺k̭usarta? bərrə́xšələ ⁺ʾal-⁺tarrət ⁺malla, mara ⁺malla ṱ-avət basima ⁺k̭usarta múyyovət ʾatən cmá-⁺dana k̭am ʾadiyya, ⁺bayyənna. mut ⁺k̭usarta? mərrə ⁺k̭usarta ʾat-muyyalux m-cəslan k̭at-bašlətva xurrag gavo. ʾa mərrə, ⁺k̭usarta, ⁺k̭usarta mətla. mərrə ba-dáx c-oya mətla?! mərrə bas-dáx c-oya ⁺k̭usarta yadla?!

One day mullah Nasradin goes and takes a cooking pot as a loan from his neighbour. He says ‘Give me a pot, I want to cook stew in it. I do not have a big pot.’ He takes the pot and brings it back, cooks stew, takes it and gives it back to the neighbour, but he puts two pots in it. The neighbour says ‘This is two pots, why have you brought them?’ He said ‘Your pot has given birth, to two others.’ He gives this to him ‘Thank you’ and comes back. The next week mullah Nasradin goes again. He say ‘Excuse me, I want a bigger pot. The eye of mullah Nasradin had fallen on one of the pots of the neighbour. He had made a plan, since he wanted to bring back that one. For that (reason) he gave his pot as well as two others with it. He went and said ‘I want a bigger pot to cook food in—I have guests. He gives the biggest and most beautiful pot to mullah Nasradin. Mullah Nasradin brings it back and puts it in the house. The neighbour sees that one day, two days, one week, two weeks, one month, two months (pass) but there is no pot. ‘But what has become of the pot? What has become of the pot?’ He goes to the door of the mullah and says ‘Mullah, if you please, I want a pot that you took some time ago.’ ‘What pot?’ He said ‘A pot that you took from me to use to cook food in.’ He said ‘Ah, the pot, the pot has died.’ He said ‘How could it have died?!’ He said ‘How could a pot give birth?!’