The Kettle Who Gave Birth

One day Nasreddin Hodja went to a neighbour who worked with copper and asked to borrow a big cooking pot. The neighbour lent it to him, and Nasreddin carried it home.

When he had finished with it, Nasreddin put a tiny saucepan inside the big pot and carried them both back to the owner.

The owner looked into his pot and saw the little saucepan. “What’s this?” he asked.

“Good news,” said Nasreddin. “Your pot has had a baby!”

The owner was pleased to get something for nothing. He did not ask any questions. He simply took the little saucepan and put it away with his things.

Some time later, Nasreddin asked to borrow the big pot again. The owner lent it to him gladly, and Nasreddin carried it home.

The owner waited one day for his pot to come back. Then he waited another day, and another, until five days had gone by. Still no pot. At last he went to Nasreddin’s house and knocked on the door.

Nasreddin opened it. “What can I do for you?” he asked.

“I’ve come for my pot,” said the man.

“Oh, my friend,” said Nasreddin sadly, “I am so sorry. Your pot has died.”

“Died?” cried the man. “Nasreddin, how can a pot die?”

“Well,” said Nasreddin, “you believed that it could have a baby. So why can’t you believe that it could die?”

About this telling

Nasreddin Hodja, also called the Khoja or, in older English books, the Cogia, is a well-known comic figure in Turkish folklore. People have told funny stories about him for hundreds of years, from Turkey to Central Asia. This one is retold from The Turkish Jester, a small book of his jokes translated from Turkish by the English writer George Borrow and printed in 1884, a few years after Borrow died.

In Borrow’s version, Nasreddin borrows the pot from a brazier, a man who works with brass and copper.

Read the original: George Borrow, trans., The Turkish Jester (Project Gutenberg #16244)

Reading guidance: ages 6–8, with help separating a funny comparison from a sound reason. Birth and death are imaginary claims about cookware.

A closer reading

Nasreddin offers the owner a small gain before imposing a much larger loss. The owner’s willingness to accept the saucepan makes his later protest look inconsistent, which supplies the punchline. But accepting a gift does not actually establish that a cooking pot is alive.

The joke exposes selective belief rather than proving a valid claim to keep borrowed property. The owner can admit that the first explanation was impossible and still ask for his pot back. Distinguishing a witty answer from a fair settlement lets readers enjoy the reversal without treating trickery as justice.

Try this with the story

Use two drawings, one of a pot with a small saucepan and one of an empty shelf. Under each, write what the owner gains or loses and whether Nasreddin’s explanation can be true. Finish the dialogue with a reply that rejects both impossible claims and asks for the borrowed pot.

Questions to ask

• Why does the owner accept the little saucepan without questioning the explanation?
• Does believing the first story mean he must keep believing something impossible?
• What could he say while still asking for his own pot back?

You may also like

• Nasreddin Hodja and the Smell of Soup — another Nasreddin Hodja story
• The Monkey and the Crocodile — another quick tale where a clever answer wins