TAMERLANE'S PRICE

One day, Tamerlane and Hodja(*) together take a trip
To a bath where they start washing as soon as they strip.
While bathing, out of the clear blue, demands His Highness:
``If I were a serf for sale, how much would you bid?''
Of course, Hodja knows no cowardice nor shyness:
First he pretends to ponder, then, with customary slyness:
``If you ask me'' he says, ``I would bid a hundred quid.''
Tamerlane is furious: ``You must be insane!''
``Out towel here alone is worth at least a hundred.''
Hodja shakes with guffaws that he cannot restrain;
Then he bows and blandly says to Tamerlane:
``In fact, it was the towel for which I made my bid.''

				   Orhan Veli Kanik

                            Translated by Talat Sait Halman (1982)

(*) Nasreddin Hodja, a preacher, a wit, and raconteur who lived sometime
    between the 13th and 15th centuries.