THE MISSING LEG
The Hodja was a poor man, but not a miserly one. As a matter of fact, miserly people are never poor. Anyhow, one day the Hodja was going to visit the great Tamerlane. On second thought, he realized how unseemly it would look for him to go empty-handed. No, it would not do at all.
He got a goose beautifully roasted, placed it on a tray, and started on his way to the palace. After a while, the aroma of the roasted goose began to tell on him. When he could bear it no longer, he broke one of its legs off and satisfied his desire.
Tamerlane, when offered the gift, at once noticed that one of the legs was missing, and being lame in one leg himself, he thought this must have been done on purpose to remind him of his disability. He was, of course, furious, and the Hodja had never in his life been in greater danger.
"What's the meaning of this!" roared the tyrant. "Where's the other leg of this goose?"
Your Majesty, all the geese in Akshehir are one-legged," replied the Hodja.
"That's preposterous! I never heard of such nonsense!"
"If your Mastey deigns to look out of the window, the geese near the water will vouch for me."
True enough, all the geese were standing about in the sun on one leg. Tamerlane ordered an attendant to chase the birds away. They watched the attendant throw a large stick, and then the geese ran away as fast as both their legs could carry them.
"You see, Nasreddin, you were lying. Those geese have two legs."
"Those poor birds don't prove a thing, your Majesty. If I were chased away with such a stick, I might grow an extra leg myself!"
