Once There Was, Twice There Wasn't by Michael Shelton

Author:Michael Shelton [Shelton, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781620957721
Publisher: BookBaby

THE TIN WHISTLE

It seems strange that the heart should be captivated by a mere sound: a miser by the clink of coins, a mother by the coo of her child, and a boy by the note of a tin whistle. But so it was in the city of Akshehir when the muhtar's son returned one day from the bazaar with a shiny new whistle. Soon every boy was determined to gain such a prize for himself.

When the boys saw Nasreddin Hodja saddling his donkey to make the journey to the bazaar, they swarmed around him like bees to the flower.

“In the name of Allah the Compassionate, and Merciful will you not bring me a whistle Hodja effendi?”

“Hodja effendi, you are as generous as you are wise. Surely you will not begrudge me a whistle.”

“Hodja, my heart will break if you do not bring me a whistle also.”

With such words, they begged and flattered and pleaded with Hodja to buy tin whistles for them all at the bazaar. All except one boy who pushed his way through the crowd and pressed a few small coins into Nasreddin Hodja’s palm and said, “I would like a whistle please.”

When Hodja returned in the evening, the boys rushed out to meet him. Hodja removed a whistle from his pocket and handed it to the boy who had given him the coins. As the boy blew his whistle happily, the other boys crowded forward eagerly with their hands outstretched until Hodja turned out his pockets to show that he had no more whistles.

Some of the boys began to cry and complain, but Hodja silenced them with a rebuke. “It takes more than importunate words to acquire your heart's desire, boys. In this world, the one who pays plays the whistle.”

This tale is so well known in Turkey that it has become a proverb. When someone asks for what they have not earned, they may be reminded, “The one who pays plays the whistle”.

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