The Borrowed Cauldron

Nasreddin Hodja was known around town as a very wise man, but he was also a great trickster. Anyone who had dealings with him was bound to remember his witty ideas long afterwards.

One day, Nasreddin decided to cook some meat in a delicious sauce to treat his friends. However, he didn’t have a cauldron big enough for such a feast. So he went to see his neighbour to ask if he would be so kind as to lend him a bigger cauldron.

"Don’t worry," he assured his neighbour, "I'll return it to you first thing tomorrow morning."

The neighbour lent him his cauldron without hesitation. Nasreddin did as he had promised and brought the cauldron back to his neighbour the very next morning.

When the neighbour took the cauldron back, he was surprised to find that it was rather heavy. He looked inside it, and can you imagine what he saw?

"Dear neighbour," he said with surprise, "there is a small pot inside my cauldron. This must be a mistake."

"Oh, no," smiled Nasreddin. "On the contrary. I have great news for you. While your cauldron was with me, this little pot was born!"

The neighbour stared incredulously at the pot inside the cauldron. He thought Nasreddin must have gone completely mad.

Nasreddin, however, continued: "It’s only right that the baby should stay with its mother. And since you’re the owner of the mother, you should keep the baby too."

The neighbour just shook his head and didn’t argue. After all, he was getting a nice pot for free! So he thanked Nasreddin politely and enjoyed his new pot.

Some time later, Nasreddin Hodja visited his neighbour once again.

"Dear neighbour," he said, "I would like to borrow your…