Ice for Dinner

kha-yuma medre malla Nasraden mayele jigar men Pkulliye,P kelliyyate akhnan tanakhla, kelliyyay. mayele beta. bakhtu vayela tevta al-havuz, mane khallule. katu vertela tevtela tama gashshuke. ka-bakhta marele kat bakhta, ana muyyeven kha torba gdila ka-berashe bashlatle, tammezatle, karkezzatle.

One day again mullah Nasradin brings liver with kidneys, we call it jərjiyatə, jərjiyay. He brings it home. His wife is sitting by the pool washing dishes. A cat has come in and is sitting there looking. He says to his wife ‘Wife, I have brought a bag of ice for you to cook, clean and prepare for the evening.’

malla berrekhshele. bakhta marela ah! ketma b-rishukh men-jib t-azel busra mayye, khishele muyyel ka-diyyi jigar, Pkulve del-u-kulve. berrekhshela a-bar-shulo. katuda berrekhshela kulle bikhalela prakela.

The mullah goes off. The woman says ‘Ah! Curse him! Instead of going to bring meat, he has gone and brought me liver, kidney, heart and kidney.’ She goes about her work. The cat goes and eats it all and finishes it off.

berashe malla bitayele mara ana muyyenva Pdel-u-kulveP ka-diyyakh. dakh vilun? mara at kati merrukh kat gdila muyyet. merre Pahmak! nadan!P ana atkha merri kat-katu la shammava, la parmiyyava akhlavale!

In the evening the mullah comes back. He says ‘I had brought heart and kidney to you. What has become of them?’ She says ‘You said to me that you have brought ice.’ He said ‘Fool! Idiot! I said this so that the cat would not hear, so that it would not understand and eat it!’